


A Sparkling Sunset

by Ferhog



Category: My Little Pony, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: Angst, Background Relationships, Comedy, Distrust, Drama, Dreams, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Implied Sexual Content, Multiple Personalities, Psychological Drama, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-11
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2018-08-08 03:48:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 57,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7742188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ferhog/pseuds/Ferhog
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After all that they have been through, Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle's bond has grown into a strong and deep friendship. But as their relationship continues to mature, they will have to face challenge after challenge that will put the bond between them to the test.</p><p>This story originally started in November 2014 on a different site, so there are a few things that Seasons of the show beyond Season 4 have contradicted. Just thought I'd warn you.</p><p>My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and it's characters are property of Hasbro.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Some Help With The Library-Sunset Shimmer

"I think I found it!"

The book was wrapped in some sort of thick, wrinkly brown cover, with little decoration or text on it, and any that could be found had faded almost beyond visibility, which gave a hint at the centuries or even millennia that it had seen. All that Sunset could make of the front cover was an image that looked kind of like a mirror, and some letters in an old, classic looking font that spelled something like...

'A.LO...T.H.IN..RDE.E...N.L'

Whatever the title once spelled was beyond figuring out, but it was the words underneath the title that really got Sunsets attention. The words were also blurred, possibly worse than the title, but she recognized the name anyway. She had seen the spelling and the handwriting countless times, from the countless books she had read when she was still a student of Celestia.

'Starswirl the bearded.'

Sunset smiled at the name. Now it made a whole lot more sense why Twilight was looking so desperately for this book... Her train of thought was disrupted by the sound of clopping hooves, at a rate that sounded almost like a run.

Well, speak...or...think of Nightmare moon, and she shall appear.

Sunset turned her head down the left hall to see Twilight Sparkle bounding towards her, with a wide eyed look on her face that was almost creepy, if Sunset hadn't seen that expression so many times already. Twilight skidded to a halt so that she didn't crash into the yellow mare, and in a glow of magenta light the book was out of Sunset's hooves and levitating in front of the princesses face, its pages turning fast, but delicately. Sunset couldn't help but think that was kinda rude, but Twilight tended to act a bit over the top when it came to books.

"Yes." whispered the lavender alicorn, a smile breaking across her face. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!"

She looked just about ready to start jumping up and down.

"Oh Sunset Shimmer do you know what this is?"

Even for Twilight, this book was causing a lot more excitement than Sunset had expected.

"Um...Its a book...by Starswirl the Bearded?"

Twilight stared at her with wide eyes and a huge smile.

"This isn't just any one of Starswirl's books, this is _A look at the Inter-dimensional_! And this isn't just any copy of his works, this is his ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPTS! AND THEIR STILL COMPLETLEY INTACT!"

She had to admit, that did sound pretty exciting. The prospect of reading any original text by possibly the greatest unicorn wizard in equestrian history is something that could bring the inner filly out of any student of princess Celestia. Even former students.

"Princess Celestia sent this to Ponyville DAYS ago, and I would have gotten to reading it if some...idiot, hadn't put this in the wrong section! Basic magic?! Come on! This could be a major breakthrough in my studies. Even the toned down modern copies you can find in the Canterlot libraries almost feel like Starswirl's personal magical journal. Just think of all the magical secrets that could be LITERALLY hidden in these pages."

Twilight pulled Sunset in for a quick hug.

"Thank you so much for finding this. And with the information this is said to have on inter-dimensional travel, we could learn more about the mirror, and anything else Starswirl owned regarding this subject."

Sunset smiled. Twilight looked almost adorable when rambling on about books, magic and studies. Just the way she moves around as if hooked up on a gallon of coffee, and her eyes just darting from the subject matter to whoever she's talking to, while listing every fact about what she's talking about from how old it is, to its length in milimeters to how big the explosion would be if it was touched.

"So, now that this is out of the way, is there anything else you need my help with?" Sunset asked. It was getting pretty late, but she could help find a few more misplaced books or even assist Twilight in her research.

The princess of friendship responded with a small smile, less maniacal and a bit kinder than the ones she'd displayed moments earlier.

"Thanks, but I think we're done for the day. Come on, Fluttershy brought some sandwiches for us to eat."

The two mares started to walk down the rows of bookshelves, and even though Sunset had seen Twilights library plenty of times before, she was still impressed by how pretty it was, along with its sheer range of books. The blue color of the walls and shelves went really well the crystal design of the place, which was beautiful enough by itself, and the light shining through the windows just made certain areas shine and glitter in a way that added a sense of wonder to the library. And the number and variety of books was much more impressive given the fact that the castle was relatively new. The combination of the tree of harmonies magical gift and the books that had been generously given to Twilight by princess Celestia and multiple book doners made the library one of the main reasons Sunset had been visiting the castle so much lately. It was just incredible.

And the throne room wasn't too bad either.

It had a design similar to that of the library, only it had a much more purple tint in its crystals, and green semicircular windows that created the same glittering effect the libraries windows made. The floor was a lot flatter and more like marble than crystal, compared to the rest of the castle, and was designed with purple spirals that rested against a violet backdrop. In the center of the rooms floor was the image of a white star inside a yellow circle, and surrounding this were six thrones, each of them embedded with the cutie marks of Twilight and her council. It looked like some kind of round table.

In fact the entire castle was beautiful, if the tree of harmony can be credited with one thing, it had excellent taste. Well, it could also be credited with keeping the Everfree forest at bay and the multiple times the elements of harmony saved all of Equestria from various evil threats (Sunset herself included), but those weren't quite as memorable as the castle's design.

Rarity and Fluttershy were already sitting in the middle of the circle, eating away at some lettuce, cheese and tomato sandwiches. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were busy pushing a large cart with a stack of crates (that were unlikely to not be containing things that Twilight intended on studying or using to study something else that needed studying (y'know, to study!)) through one of the large doors. And Rainbow Dash had somehow managed to get a cloud into the castle, on which she was currently reading a book, which, being Rainbow Dash, was probably an A.K Yearling novel.

"Oh Applejack! Pinkie!" Rarity shouted, trying to get the attention of the two earth ponies, who had been pushing the cart down one of the hallways.

"You've been unpacking crates for hours darlings! Come over here and have some of Fluttershy's delicious sandwiches!"

"Sorry sugar cube, we gotta get these here crates unpacked before goin' home!" Applejack yelled from the hallway. "Twilight will be needin' these for her research tonight, well join y'all later!"

This statement seemed to have disappointed Rarity a bit, who then turned her head towards Rainbow Dash.

"I don't suppose you would like a sandwich Rainbow Dash?" asked Rarity.

Rainbow didn't even bother to look back at the white unicorn. She just waved her hoof and responded by saying, "Yeah...maybe I'll have some after I finish _Daring Do and the Ring of Destiny_."

"Haven't you already read that book about forty times? That's twice as much as all the times you've read the other Daring Do books."

"Yeah well, this one is just that awesome."

"Or because its the one with YOU in it."

"Maybe."

Fluttershy giggled at the banter, and turned to face Twilight and Sunset.

"I don't suppose you girls are feeling hungry?" she asked in her usual quiet, yet positive voice.

"Sure, we'd love some sandwiches." replied Twilight, while levitating a pair of sandwiches out of the basket. She brought one of them over to herself, and dropped the other one in front of Sunset, who caught it using her own telekinesis.

The sandwich floated over to her mouth, and she bit into the bread, feeling the tomatoes squirt juice down her throat, and the lettuce and cheese crunching and splitting between her teeth. She even detected some mayonnaise in the combination. Over all, it created a taste that filled Sunsets mouth with its goodness, and consumed her with a comfortable feeling that only homemade food can give you.

"This is really good, Fluttershy." She said through the muffling contents in her mouth. "I didn't even think they had mayonnaise in Equestria."

The Pegasus smiled at her. "Thank you." She exclaimed in a voice that was almost a whisper. "I made it myself. Angel does likes mayonnaise in his sandwiches, though his usually have carrots rather than cheese."

Sunset responded by gasping loudly "A bunny that enjoys carrots, WHAT FOUL MANNER OF BLACK MAGIC IS THIS?!"

Small fits of laughter were brought out of each of the four mares. Since leaving Equestria over thirty moons ago, she'd never had an enjoyable social gathering with her fellow ponies. It felt good to be talking to Equestrians after all these years.

"So, Rarity," Sunset said. "What have you been doing today?"

"Oh, me and Fluttershy have spent the past few days adding more appealing features to the castles furniture. Quilts, cushions, curtains, things like that. I personally made all of it myself. Being the castle of a princess of Equestria, this place is bound to get guests, and we must make sure that they enjoy the highest quality furniture they can get. But enough about my work, what have you and Twilight been doing in the library?"

"Sunset Shimmer's been helping me organize the place, she's been really helpful" Twilight turned to Sunset with an affectionate smile. "The libraries in a serious mess, and I'm glad to have a fellow gifted unicorn help me organize it to its full potential. A few minutes ago, we found the ORIGINAL version of Starswirl the Bearded's _A look at the inter-dimensional_ , in the basic magic section of the library! Who in their right mind would put a book of that importance in there?!"

Fluttershy looked at Twilight with a helpful look on her face.

"Maybe if you personally oversaw the organization of the library, rather than just sending other people to do it, it wouldn't be in such a mess."

"I know. Its just, with the alicornhood, the title, the castle, I'm finding a lot more of my time taken up by royal duties now than ever before. I mean, they've settled down and now I have much more time to organize the library, but I don't think I could ever do a job like this without help. I'm just glad I have friends like Sunset to help me with this kind of stuff"

The yellow unicorn nodded in thanks, as she chowed down her last sandwich. She looked over to one of the windows, and even though the glass was tinted green, she could definitely see a change in color, signifying late afternoon.

"I'd better get going." Sunset declared. "Its getting pretty late."

"Here, let me see you off." replied Twilight.

The unicorn and the alicorn stood up and started walking back to the library, while Fluttershy and Rarity said their goodbyes. When they reached the library they found the mirror standing where it always did, and the activation device set around it, with its two pairs of pylons, pistons, wires and all sorts of technological junk cobbled together so that they could open a portal that would normally only open for half a week every thirty moons.

Twilight picked the book up.

"So I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

Sunset put on a rather sad face.

"Sorry, I don't think I'll be able to visit during weekdays, y'know with school and all."

"Okay." said Twilight, sharing in her slight sadness.

Surrounded by the magenta glow, the book was lifted and placed on the small pedestal, and instantly started to glow pink. Two streams of pink energy emitted from the book, and attached themselves to the two pylons, which sent the energy glowing down the wires. The wires sent the energy through multiple mechanisms such as pistons, rollers and couplings. Finally, the energy streams reached the two smaller pylons, where they were released, and fused together to form a purple wormhole, which joined with the mirror. The pink energy rushed through the mirror in an unstable state, before a blinding white flash of light occurred. When the light passed, the mirror glowed in stable pink energy, ready for transportation.

"Well, I guess I'd better get going." Sunset exclaimed.

"See you in five days?"

"You can count on it."

"I already am."

And before Sunset could turn around, Twilight lurched forward, locking her in a tight embrace. The yellow mare took this as a surprise. She'd been hugged by Twilight before, but never with this much affection. Not that she didn't like it. On the contrary, she liked it a lot. Its was warm, soft, and passionate. All she could feel was the violet alicorn with her hooves around her neck.

When they finally parted, Twilight stared at her, smiling.

"Bye."

Sunset smiled back, and proceeded to walk over to the mirror. She placed her hoof into the pink glow, and that hoof pulled her whole body into the light. She felt a sensation as if her body dissapated into pure energy, and her head went dizzy.

When her mind came back to her, she found herself standing in the grounds of Canterlot high, the sun setting behind it. She could feel the changes in her body, the hooves now toes and fingers , her muzzle now a mouth and a nose, her ears shrunk into a smaller, rounder shape, and her tail and horn gone completely.

Her body and soul was very much at Canterlot high, but her thoughts were still in Equestria, particularly with a lavender alicorn princess.


	2. Students-Twilight Sparkle

Twilight kept waiting by the journal. Waiting for the slightest hints of glowing or vibrating.

The book didn't really look that special. It had a plain brown hardback cover with some small golden clamps on its spine. The only sign of its importance was that a pink star put against the backdrop of about seven smaller white stars was embedded on the cover, that image being the cutie mark of Twilight herself. The journal used to feature the cutie mark of princess Celestia, but after the book was given to Twilight she thought it would be more appropriate if it sported her own cutie mark. But even besides that, the journal looked like it could be just any old book from Celestia's library.

But it was much more special than ANY book in Celestia's library (well accept maybe the personal journals of Starswirl the Bearded, Marelin the Robed, or Candlespark the Pointy Hatted, or any other great wizard from Equestria's history...the journal was still very special though...honest...). When Twilight wrote in the journal, the same words would appear in a book in the other world, one that looked identical to hers, but featuring Sunsets cutie mark instead. Twilight and Sunset used this to communicate with each other from their separate dimensions, and this was usually as a friendship report from Sunset and Twilight responding to it.

It had been two days since Sunset left, and Twilight hadn't received any word from her since then. She'd written to her, asking how everything was at Canterlot high, mainly as an excuse to talk to her, and she wasn't going to write to her again. What if Sunset found it annoying?

' _Stay calm Twilight, she's a busy girl. Probably doesn't have time to talk with me at the moment._ ' She thought to herself.

But what if that wasn't the case? What if the connection between the two books was broken? What if the connection between the two worlds was broken? What if she would never see Sunset or any of her Canterlot high friends again?!

' _Just keep it together girl, that sort of thing is unlikely to happen. Surely there would be physical signs._

But what if Sunset didn't WANT to talk to Twilight? What if she was sick of having to organize and find books all day? What if she was freaked out by the way Twilight acted when she was leaving the previous day...

She'd thought about the event a lot since that day, and scolded herself for her actions. WHAT WAS SHE THINKING! Just rushing forward and grabbing Sunset in a tight hug without warning? Yeah, that wasn't going to freak her out at all! Sure she was feeling sad about Sunset leaving. Sure she didn't want her to go. But that didn't excuse her actions at all. Twilight herself barely understood them at the time. She'd never hugged any of her other friends that intensely. Had she?

'Look twilight, thinking this pessimistically isn't going to help. Just be patient, and get something else done. I'm sure she'll...

Her thoughts were cut off by a vibrating noise, and she turned her head to see the journal glowing pink and shaking in a systematically.

The magenta light of her magic dragged the book over to her desk in a flash, and she opened the pages to find a new entry written in a very familiar handwriting.

_Dear Princess Twilight_

_I'm sorry if I didn't get back to your message instantly, we were told that a chemistry test was coming up and I wanted to be prepared. Hope you didn't mind having to wait._

_'Okay.' Twilight thought. 'She DOESN'T hate me.'_

_Big Macintosh recently got his leg broken in a football game, right before the apple families harvesting season, and A.J. made the CRAZY decision to harvest everything all by herself. Day after day she seemed to be getting more disoriented, and ended up causing a bunch of destructive accidents. I mean, who knew how terrifying a stampeding hoard of BABY BUNNIES could be so terrifying? And every time we tried to offer our help she just turned us down, saying that she had to do it herself. In the end, she finally overcame her stubborn pride and let us help. She learned that no matter how responsible your supposed to be for something, you should always accept a helping hand when its offered to you. And when someone as stubborn as A.J. understands something like that, we can all be inspired to do the same._

_Your friend always, Sunset Shimmer._

This brought a smile to Twilight's face.

"I guess the magic of friendship isn't the only thing that exists in places other than Equestria." she whispered to herself.

"Really? I'd love to meet another version of me. Oooooh, I wonder if there's a janitor me in the multiverse!"

Twilight sighed in annoyance. That voice could only belong to one obnoxious spirit...

A white flash appeared to Twilight's left, revealing the grey head of a pony, sporting the beige antler of an elk and the blue antler of an oryx, attached to a simple brown furry body. The various limbs were the arm of a lion, the claw of an eagle, the hoof of a donkey, and the green leg of a dragon. Behind the legs was a red scaled tail with white fur on the end, and the face featured a white beard, an oversized fang, and two yellow eyes with red irises, both of which were staring at her.

"Good afternoon, Discord..."

The Draconequus stared at her with wide eyes and a huge smile on his face.

' _Well this can't be good..._ ' Thought the Alicorn.

"Twilight Sparkle how are you?" asked the spirit of chaos. " I haven't seen you since...how long's it been? Two, three weeks? Oh never mind, I just thought I'd check on how my favorite Alicorn princess is doing."

"I've just been organizing my castle and stuff like that..."

She grumbled as politely as she could. As good and reformed as Discord was these days, especially after the Tirek incident, he was still one of the most annoying forces in Equestria at times.

"Oh yes the CASTLE." He said, turning his head in multiple angles and directions. "I really love what you've done with this place. I mean, at first I was all 'Oh what an ugly castle, that crystal theme is overused, it looks so out of place in Ponyville, I miss the old Treehouse!' you know, things like that. But now, this interior, oh yes, this interior is just lovely!"

In another white flash he was leaning against Twilight with one arm around her back and the other arm holding up...was that a cellphone?!

"Smiiiiiiiile for the selfie!"

The resulting flash left her eyes disoriented and blurry for a few seconds, and after it cleared up she found discord shoving the phone in her face, his facial expression similar to a ducks and hers as if she'd been punched in the face.

She stared at Discord with a look of severe annoyance. "Look Discord if your gonna stay in this library you better grab a book and start reading, I have some important studying to do."

He was too busy paying attention as he seemed to be...texting? She'd never seen a cellphone anywhere except at Canterlot high. WHO WOULD HE BE TEXTING?

Pinkie pie maybe?

He did at least turn to face Twilight.

"Oh yes you recently found that book didn't you? Starswirl's work I believe, yes that guy does make for an engaging read."

This sparked a thought in her head.

"Hey, did you ever personally meet Starswirl the bearded?"

The Draconequus raised his eyebrow at this comment.

"I just thought I'd ask. Y'know, since your...like...a few centuries old and stuff..."

"Yeeeaaaaaaah..." He properly looked her in the face and chucked his cellphone away, which promptly turned into a flock of butterflies. "Starswirl sadly passed from our mortal realm right before I was born. Never met him."

"Okay just...thought I'd ask..."

There was a surprisingly long moment of awkward silence.

"You know Twilight, we cant be doing this friend thing well if there's this much awkwardness and not enough chatting and getting to know each other." In yet another white flash of light he was walking circles around her. "What to do, what to do...ooh, I know, how's that new student of yours doing?"

"Student?" she asked in a confused voice (She did a lot of that talking to Discord).

"Green eyes, yellowish-orange-ish coat, yellow and red mane..."

"Sunset Shimmer?" She asked. "I don't know if I'd call her my student."

She hadn't really thought about it that much. Well, she did receive reports from Sunset and did give her helpful advice, but she never really felt like she was teaching her. It felt more like they were learning from each other.

"Oh well, suit yourself. You should start seeing her more often, I have a feeling something pretty entertaining is gonna come out of this particular friendship..." A flash of light later he was standing near the biology bookshelf reading _You're in heat!_ by Dr. Organalysis PHD

"I really love the job she's done by the way."

What did he mean by that? Discord tended to give almost prophetic advice at times, and usually in a way as cryptic as Celestia, only it was more in an infuriatingly teasing way than in a wise way.

"Well I best be off, places to be, ponies to see, stuff like that. I did enjoy the conversation by the way." He walked over to the door and turned his head towards the Alicorn. "Oh yes and I forgot to mention, Princess Celestia told me to inform you that she's coming to visit when your little dragon comes back from Canterlot."

And in a final flash of light, the spirit of chaos was gone.

Twilight stared at the spot where he was standing just a few seconds ago, wrapping her head around what he just said. Princess Celestia was coming HERE!?

As if on cue, a purple and green puff of smoke appeared in mid air, and a note dropped out of it into Twilight's hooves.

_Dear Twilight Sparkle, my fellow princess_

__

_I imagine by now Discord has informed you of my upcoming visit. Since he hasn't always been the most trustworthy kind, I decided to send this letter as well. I hope that you do not mind the surprise, as since Spike is done with his royal business and is returning to Ponyville, I thought that I would come check up on you. We should be arriving in one hour._

_Your mentor, Princess Celestia_

Yep, the princess was coming here all right.

"Oh no."

She ran over to her desk and looked at the clutter of books, lamps, magnifying glasses and research equipment, and thought about how the library wasn't all sorted yet.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no! What is she gonna think if she finds the castle so unorderly? I don't want her to think I'm unorganized!"

Okay, she had one hour, if she called the rest of her friends over, she might be able to sort out ALL her two hundred misplaced books, and still be able to tidy her desk, bedroom and throne room up. No, that wouldn't work, they weren't all as familiar with books as Sunset was. Maybe if she got all of Ponyville to help her, she'd get it done in time. They were all her subjects after all. No, she didn't want to take advantage of them like that. What if they thought of her as some kind of bossy tyrant? What was she going to DO?!

' _Keep calm Twilight._ ' she thought to herself. ' _You've in overreacted in situations like this before, she's never thought of you negatively during her visits._ '

But she wasn't a princess before most of those situations, what if Celestia thought that she wasn't taking her royal duties SERIOUSLY?!

She took a deep breath in, and then a deep breath out. Just like Cadence had taught her.

' _I guess I can just tidy up my desk, and leave the rest of the castle._ ' She thought ' _Then I'll see how she reacts_ '

***

After about five minutes of waiting on her balcony, Twilight looked up to see the golden shine of the royal chariot appear from out of the clouds. As it descended closer to the castle and into plainer sight, she got a better look at four strong white Pegasus stallions dressed in golden armor pulling the large gold and purple chariot, on which was a white Alicorn and a purple and green dragon.

As it landed on her Balcony, Spike jumped down and run into Twilight with an affectionate hug.

"How was your trip to Canterlot?" she asked

"Great!" The dragon replied. "I mean, writing and sending letters to just about every politician in Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom is pretty boring, and tiring, but I got to sleep in this really soft quilted bed, and was eating buffets of gems for breakfast, lunch and dinner."

He looked up at the sky while drooling and licking his lips. "Awesome."

Twilight giggled at the dragon and turned towards the large white Alicorn

Princess Celestia's flowing pink, blue and green mane, along with her shining white coat, golden crown and towering height, made for a truly magnificent sight that made Twilight feel tempted to start bowing, if she wasn't an alicorn princess as well.

She welcomed her old mentor with a quick hug. " It's good to see you, Celestia."

"As it is good to see you, Twilight Sparkle." She turned to face her guards. "That will be al,l sirs. You are permitted to enjoy Ponyville at your Leisure. Twilight, is there any spot you would recommend for my guards, they must be quite peckish after their journey."

"There's a muffin sale going on at Sugarcube Corner if your interested."

The four stallions replied with a nod, though she saw one of them lick his lips hungrily.

"Ooh, ooh, can I come too? Maybe they got some emerald muffins today!" Spike proclaimed excitedly.

One of the stallions picked him up and placed him on his back. "Fashao dude, lets roll!"

And with that, Spike and the four white stallions rocketed off onto the sky.

"Fashao?" Twilight asked in a confused voice.

"Sir Dawson hails from a beach town south of Mareami, they seem to just make up their own words in that area," Celestia explained.

Twilight chuckled at the comment. "So, what would you like to do?"

Celestia just smiled at her old student.

"I would like to see what you've been up to."

Twilight smiled back, thinking of some of the messier rooms in the castle. "Sure..."

_' I am so dead...'_

***

Twilight was genuinely surprised at how well Celestia was taking the tour. When they passed her room Twilight was sure that Celestia would blow a gas cap over the fact that she left a pile of books on her sheets and an empty coffee mug on her bedside table. But no...nothing.

' _Maybe she's assessing and judging everything in her mind, with the intentions of writing a report?!_ '

As they entered the throne room, Twilight's eyes darted from spot to spot, looking for any signs of untidy-ness.

"It hasn't really changed much since you last saw it..."

It was than that she spotted it. BREADCRUMBS! Monstrous heaps of breadcrumbs on the floor! Why hadn't the girls swept it up when they finished eating!

"It all looks wonderful, Twilight." Proclaimed Celestia, her voice radiating with kindness.

' _Okay, maybe she hasn't seen them yet_ '

"Oops, let me get that for you." In the yellow light of Celestia's magic, each individual breadcrumb lifted into the air before vanishing in a yellow flash.

' _Oh no, this is going in the report isn't it!_ '

"I must say Twilight, I really am proud of what you have achieved with this place. I don't think any one of my students has ever accomplished anything quite like you have, even if you put aside the Alicornhood," The elder princess said in a voice that was ringing with pride.

And the subject of students put a thought in Twilight's mind.

"Thank you Princess." She said in the most grateful voice she could muster. "I was wondering...you've heard that Sunset Shimmer's been visiting me, right?"

The smile seemed to fade slightly from Celestia's lips. "Yes, Spike has informed me of this."

"Well, I was wondering...if you'd ever like to see your former student again? You know, since she's reformed and everything."

The white Alicorn turned her head and looked through one of the windows.

"I have not spoken to Sunset Shimmer in many years, and while that may have been long for Sunset shimmer, by the standards of my lifetime it really hasn't been that long. The last time we spoke to each other has really left a sad feeling in my heart."

Twilight was surprised by the emotion that was in her voice. "What happened exactly?"

A sigh escaped from Celestia's mouth.

"Sunset Shimmer was an amazing student. She radiated potential and opportunity, but this came with impatience and ambition. This ambition was furthered by her discovery of the mirror. She wanted to learn more about it, but I forbade her from going near it, telling her she was not ready. In the end, she tried to study it behind my back. When I confronted her about it, she couldn't believe that I would try and hide something of that power from her. It was then that she went a step too far. She told me that she was destined to rise above me, and demanded to be brought to the next stage of her studies. She demanded Alicornhood."

This was shocking for Twilight to hear. She knew Sunset used to be ambitious, but she never imagined that anyone would have the nerve to demand being made a Princess of Equestria.

"This made me...spiteful. I renounced her as my student, and banished her from the castle. I hoped that she would learn from this mistake, but as she was being escorted out, she took out the guards, and escaped through the mirror. I have not seen her since then." She turned to face Twilight again. "The events that unfolded that day make me feel like I still cannot face Subset Shimmer again. What she became, and the way I acted, is not something I remember gladly."

"I can assure you Celestia, she HAS changed. For the better." Twilight insisted.

"Perhaps..." Said Celestia. Twilight could sense the doubt in her voice. "But I have seen great deception before. Non of us truly know what goes on in that mares mind. That is one reason I came to see you Twilight. I wanted to warn you, personally. You and Cadence are the closest thing I have to daughters, I don't want to see you get hurt. Physically, or emotionally."

Twilight couldn't believe what she was hearing, but she knew better than to question her teacher.

"Do you think you will ever speak to her again?" Twilight asked.

The white Alicorn stared out the window again.

"Perhaps..." She said quietly "One day..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story features a lot of details from the IDW My Little Pony comics (Great reads by the way), and a lot of non comic readers are probably confused at this point. If that's the case for you allow me to explain. In the comic covering Sunset's backstory, Sunset discovers the mirror when under Celestia's mentorship and becomes obsessed with it's secrets. Upon discovering what it is, she accuses Celestia of hiding things from her when she believed that she was above her, and demanded being made a Princess. This resulted in Celestia expelling Sunset, who then ran off to the Human world. The 'Reflections' arc of the comics not only reveals that Starswirl created the mirror (At least I think only the comics have stated this) but also reveals that when he and Celestia journeyed through several dimensions, the latter ended up meeting and falling in love with an alternate King Sombra. Unfortunately for them, Starswirl cut the connection between their worlds since their constant meeting was wrecking reality (Or something like that, it's been a while since I read it). I think that's all the details you need to know if you haven't read the comics, so I hope this helped.


	3. The Past-Sunset Shimmer

That long red corridor seemed to just disappear into a black void.

The floor was dark plain cherry red from as far back and as far forward as she could see. The walls were a blood red color, with faded cinnamon brown stripes shifting and moving constantly. The corridor was cut off by darkness both in front and behind her. Both paths were open to her, but she couldn't go back. She didn't know why, but she just **couldn't**.

With no other choice, Sunset trotted forward into the darkness...

As she walked down the red floor, she kept looking at the shifting brown shapes on the walls, fading, twirling, and moving like clouds during a hurricane. The shapes appeared to be random, but Sunset kept thinking that she saw...faces.

Memories.

She could feel a cold shivering feeling coursing through her body. A fear started to grow inside her, as if the physical embodiment of the feeling was standing right behind her. She looked back. There was Nothing.

Nothing but the red corridor stretching out into the black void.

She **couldn't** go back.

Walking onward, the feeling started to creep up on her again, as if fear itself was climbing her back. And she couldn't outrun it. It was then that she began to hear them. Sounds, like voices. But these sounded like little more than whispers. Sunset looked further into the void. How far did she have to go? How far could she go?

As the whispers grew, she could now make out certain voices, and words...

"I have better things to do than **Socialize**..."

She knew that voice all too well, and started to power walk through the corridor, the fear still right behind her.

"It's selfish of you to keep me from my **rightful** place..."

She was jogging forward. Away from the voices. Away from the fear. But the voices just echoed down the corridors. And she couldn't outrun fear.

"I deserve to stand beside you and be your equal...if not your **better**..."

The hallway echoed with the voice's words and the clopping sound of Sunset's hooves as she sprinted down the corridor, the darkness in front of her seeming to just get further away and the darkness behind her getting closer with every passing second.

And then she saw it. A light! Just visible beyond the void that lay in front of her. She ran as fast as her hooves could make her go. Closer towards the light. And as far away from the voices as possible.

As the light consumed the darkness ahead, she had reached the end of the corridor. She was surrounded by circular walls, like some kind of coliseum. The walls and floor were identical to those of the corridor, surrounding her completely, except for one opening, and that was the way she came in. But that wasn't an option. She **couldn't** go back. But then where could she go?

Then she saw what was standing in the center of the room. The source of the light.

It was a red pedestal, the same color of the floor, and nothing more than that. But the object that was placed on it was much more beautiful.

It was a golden crown, with a base of simple gold metal, stretched in a shape to fit a ponies forehead, the ends swirled like waves. On top of the base were two thinner strands of gold metal, with a similar swirling design as if they were clouds that had stopped moving. And in between the two strands was a magenta gem in the shape of a star.

The longer she stared at it, the more she wanted it. But something inside her was saying that it couldn't be hers. But it was so beautiful. She had to have it.

The crown became encased in the aqua glow of her magic. The feeling inside grew. She knew she couldn't have it. But she wanted it so much. She began to get scared as she lifted the crown above her head, but she couldn't ignore the feeling of longing that was inside her.

And as the crown descended upon her brow. All those feeling dissipated.

Pain.

Searing pain.

She felt as if her insides had caught fire, her skin beginning to burn. A stinging sensation grew in her chest, and her screams echoed down the hallway as everything erupted into flames.

The fire dancing before her eyes, she looked into the inferno, and saw two black eyes with green irises staring back at her. The flaming silhouette of a she demon surrounding them.

"I deserve to stand beside you as your equal...if not your better..." Uttered the voice of the corridor. **Her** voice.

"MAKE ME A PRINCESS!" It screamed, as the flames consumed her and everything she saw...

When she opened her eyes, she found herself lying in her bed, the ceiling staring back at her. She sat herself up and looked around. The room was lit by the light of the moon shining through the window. Each one of the five other beds in the room occupied. Sunset turned over to her bedside table and took a sip of water, the liquid hydrating her throat and cooling her insides. With that, she lay her head on her pillow, pulled her blanket over herself, and closed her eyes again.

***

The cereal crunched between her teeth as the spoon left her mouth, and with that, she was done. She walked over to the sink and carefully rinsed out the cereal and milk from her bowl, and did the same with the spoon. After drying them with a cloth she placed them in their separate counters. The other kids hadn't finished their breakfast yet, but most of them didn't really have places to be.

As she was leaving the dining room she was approached by a yellow skinned girl with orange hair, highlighted with pink. That was Sweetcream Scoops.

"Uh...Sunset..." she asked nervously.

"Yeah, Scoops?"

"Um...I was just wondering, I need to get this math homework done...and...its asking me for the area of a cylinder..."

"Multiply the area of the circle by the height of the cylinder, and if you don't know the area of the circle, just multiply pie by the radius squared," Sunset Shimmer said knowledgeably.

The pink and orange haired girl looked slightly confused, but seemed to understand it fine. "Height, pie, radius squared, got it" She gave Sunset a quick hug. "Thanks Sunset."

As Sweetcream walked back to her table, Sunset couldn't help but smile. Sweetcream Scoops. Nice girl. In fact, you probably couldn't think of anyone at the Peachbottom Canterlot City Orphange who wasn't pretty nice. Well, unless you counted Sunset Shimmer herself no more than a year ago.

As she was leaving through the reception she was spotted by Miss Peachbottom herself, who was busy on her desk computer.

"Goin' somewhere, Sunset?" She asked in her rural accent.

"Oh, just visiting my friend again."

Peachbottom was looking more at her computer than Sunset but still aimed a smile at her.

"Oh ain't it just the chickens cluck to see ya hangin' out with friends these days. If someone told me two years ago , that Sunset Shimmer would spend this much of her free time socializin' with other folk, why I'd tell them to pack up and get the heck outta Mustangia. You thinkin' o' stayin' over night?"

Sunset looked at the backpack strapped around her shoulders. While it was mainly filled with equipment to help Twilight with, she did pack some overnight necessities. Toothbrush, sleeping bag, the works.

"Maybe..."

"Well if ye are, I would like to be informed first. I may be all relaxed with what ma orphans do but I cant have 'em goin' and stayin' wherever they done well please. If I did I wouldn't be responsible enough to take care o' this here place now would I?"

"No."

"So we're clear?"

"Yes."

Miss Peachbottom gave another smile, this time looking completely at Sunset.

"Have fun then!"

As Sunset walked through the doors she was struck by the cool morning breeze. The sun visible above the skyscrapers in the distance, and the city bustling with morning activity. Even on a weekend, you could see cars driving and people walking in just about every direction you looked.

Canterlot high was just over an hours walk from the orphanage. Usually she and the other kids would take the nearby bus, but during the weekend she didn't exactly have that luxury. Still, it left plenty of time for Twilight to see the message she sent her, and it was always good to have some quiet walking time to think to yourself.

Sadly, last nights dream had got her thinking about thoughts she'd rather not focus on. Particularly certain memories. But as much as she tried to think of something else, her homework assignment, her friends, her hobbies...the thoughts just weren't going away.

She started to think about the time before she studied under Celestia. Back when she lived in Equestria.

Like in this world Sunset shimmer was an orphan. While the identity of her mother was unknown to her, her father was a highly decorated lieutenant in the Equestrian militaries scouting legion. He was killed in action when his squad was ambushed by a pack of changelings as they were doing a recon mission near the crystal mountains. The two surviving scouts claimed that he went toe to toe with Chrysalis herself before he was shot in the back, but those same guards suffered serious instability from PTSD, so the truth was unknown. It didn't matter to Sunset. She was only two years old when he died, and remembered almost nothing about him, except the blurry memory of his silhouette. 

Growing up in the orphanage wasn't the best. While no one was every really mean to her, she couldn't help but feel incredibly lonely. The only connection she had to any family were her dad's old colleagues. He seemed to have made many good friends during his time serving in the military, since she was often visited by soldiers who had known him. They spent a large portion of their time telling her war stories and the great deeds her father had accomplished in his life. And even though over the years she was told the same stories by the same old stallions, it was the highlight of her childhood. Every few weeks she would feel excitement course through her body when she heard that one of the veterans was coming to visit, so that she could hear the stories of how her father and other great soldiers and unicorns succeeded in fantastic acts of magic and heroics. It was this that inspired Sunset to become a great unicorn. To accomplish astounding feats like her father had, so that her name and stories would be told throughout Equestria. So she started to practice her talents to the point where she would be the best in the world.

But as she tried to improve her own talents, she saw that many fellow foals had talents and skills that they bested her in, and this was slowly eating away at Sunset. How was she to be the best if there were always people who were better than her?

She spent all the time she could honing her skills, improving, so that she could show those idiots what it meant to be truly determined. But no matter how much time she spent training every skill she knew, she could rarely best anyone who had that particular talent. It was this that gave her the realization that multiple talents were almost impossible to all master. In order to become the best, she would have to master one talent. But this couldn't be any talent, it had to be a superior talent.

It was then that she began to study the magical arts.

She spent her days saving up all the money she could, buying books and artefacts that would propel her through her studies. Her nights were spent reading books and practicing spells, to the point where she would collapse to the floor in exhaustion. It was a hard and grueling challenge, but its led her to becoming a very powerful unicorn.

But even with her talent so mighty, she often encountered competition. It turned out there were many unicorns trying to be become skilled in the art of magic. While most of them did it for helping with their own talents, Sunset couldn't help but see them as threats to her goal. And those who were also trying to become great unicorn mages were even greater threats. This caused her to start discouraging them, telling them that they were too weak, and that they would never succeed. She even went as far as to deceive and manipulate them into walking away from their goals, or preventing others from reaching them. And most of the time it would work. She would let nothing come between her and becoming the greatest wielder of magic Equestria had ever seen.

Despite all this, she had never been in direct, physical competition with a fellow unicorn. That was until she met Arran Clover.

Clover was a unicorn from the north who impressed her school crowd with his amazing feats of magic. In mere days the entire school was talking about him, and how they'd never seen any pony succeed in such feats as he had. This ignited a fire inside Sunset. A raging fire that would not be quenched until she had shown Arran Clover and everyone who had praised him so much who was really the most powerful pony around.

She challenged him to a magic duel, to which he so arrogantly accepted. The following noon the schoolyard ponies were gathered around the sight of the two unicorns facing each other off, with major effects inflicted on both ponies. Sunset had a bruised eye from the forceful blast he had shot at her, Arran's face was covered in spots from the pox she had cursed him with. Clumps of hair were missing from Sunsets tail because of the angry squirrels he had summoned, and Arran's back hooves were stained with green diarrhea.

It all ended when Sunset's horn shone like the sun in its aqua light, her full power being mustered into her final spell. The energy was unleashed upon the helpless colt in a spectacular flashing beam. When the light had cleared, all that remained of Arran Clover was the plant of which he was named after.

The crowd cheered for Sunset's victory, many of them hailing her as the greatest and most powerful unicorn in Equestria.

At this moment Sunset came to a realization, She was meant to outshine all those whose opposed her magical brilliance. She was meant to be the one who was admired by the common pony. Like the setting sun, she would be looked upon in awe by all in Equestria, for her beauty, power, and spectacular displays of color and light.

And while she did not realize it at the time, the image of the setting sun became infused with her flank, as she had realized what she was born to do.

Her moment of triumph was disrupted by a flash of yellow light, as the four leafed clover was turned back into a dazed unicorn. And in another flash of yellow light, the damage and effects inflicted on Sunset were gone. It was some of the most spectacular magic she had ever seen, and when she looked in the direction of the caster, she looked upon the glowing figure of Princess Celestia.

The rest was a tale of an ambitious unicorn whose desire for power was her downfall...

_Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmm_

As the buzzing noise reached Sunset's ears she felt strong vibrations pressing against her back. She slipped the bag off and opened its largest pocket to find her journal vibrating and glowing pink. She opened the pages to see a short message written for her.

_Sunset,_

_I am really excited to see you again after five days but I have to go pick up some things from a nearby store, and while I've left the portal open I wont be back for an hour. Spike will keep you company if you happen to arrive before I return. I hope that's okay with you._

_Twilight Sparkle._

While Sunset was a bit disappointed that she wasn't going to instantly see Twilight, it wasn't really that big of a problem.

After the book was closed and put back in the bag pack, she looked up to see that she was already at the grounds of Canterlot high.

'Wow.' She thought. 'I guess that little venture down memory lane got me thinking pretty deeply.'

Upon approaching the horse statue Sunset reached her hand out to touch the mirror. She felt her fingers dissipate as they vanished into the wavy ripples of the portal. It would appear that it was indeed open. Her heart racing with anticipation, she vanished into the shimmering light of the mirror.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As this story revolves heavily around Sunset I had to build up a bit more on her origin. I hope my readers like it.
> 
> For those who don't know Miss Peachbottom, it's the name of the Pony who the Mane Six mistake for Miss Harshwhinny in the season 3 episode 'Games Ponies Play'. Not too sure why I chose her as Sunset's Guardian, but it I don't think it matters.


	4. Blatant Emotions-Twilight Sparkle

As the pink mare came into view far off into the distance, bouncing up and down in the direction of the castle, Twilight sighed with relief.

'Finally.' She thought.

When the earth pony eventually made it to the castle grounds, the alicorn walked over to her with an annoyed look on her face.

"Pinkie Pie! You were supposed to be here six minutes and forty three seconds ago! Where have you been?"

Despite the anger in Twilights voice, Pinkie's happy expression remained completely unchanged.

"Sorry Twilight." She said in a voice ringing with joy. "I got sidetracked giving my self directions to where she could find the weeping alicorns."

"What?" Asked the princess. That collection of words made very little sense.

"Weeping alicorns." Pinkie replied. "They're these alicorn statues that move when you aren't looking at them. I fought a lot of them when I was a companion of Dr. Whooves."

"Dr. Whooves?" Now Twilight was well and truly confused. Speaking nonsense was expected of Pinkie, but this was...new.

"Yeah. Dr. Whooves. He's this time travelling space pony, who goes on wild adventures through space and time, fighting aliens and reliving history. Its super fun! He usually travels with a female companion, which tends to change every two or three seasons, usually for super tragic reasons. I can't think of a single mare in Ponyville who hasn't been a companion of Dr. Whooves. I mean, have you ever looked at the background of Ponyville and seen like...two Colgates? Well, that's because one of them is a companion if Dr. Whooves on a time travelling adventure! Like, the time when Iron will came to Ponyville..."

"Okay Pinkie that's enough."

This conversation had done a serious number on Twilights brain. The antics of Pinkie Pie were best left unquestioned.

"I'm expecting Sunset Shimmer's company, so I'd rather not be late." Her heart rate accelerated at this thought. Surprisingly so actually.

As much as Twilight loved Pinkie, she wasn't the pony that was easiest to deal with. But non of her other friends could deal with this stallion quite like Pinkie could. Not even Rarity. It took an impossible pony to do business with another impossible pony.

The walk to the center of Ponyville took a little while, and a little while of silence is not healthy to the Pinkie Pie.

"So Twilight, what would you say your relationship with Spike is? I mean, he's definitely more than your just your assistant, and you more or less raised him, but you don't officially consider him your son or anything like that. It just got me thinking like, what is the relationship? What does it mean? Is Celestia the pony god? Stuff like that!"

"To be fair, Spike was raised by Celestia before I turned eighteen, so I wouldn't really say that I brought him up, but I see where you're coming from. I think of him as a kind of little brother."

This didn't stop Pinkie from asking more questions. "Oh, and speaking of Celestia, what would you say your relationship with her is? Is she like an older sister? Mother? Second cousin? Mentor? Psychiatrist?"

This got Twilight thinking about what Celestia said during her last visit, how she and Cadence were like daughters to her. "I guess she's like a motherly figure. Well, my actual mother is more of a motherly figure, but I don't think I'd be anything like who I am now if it weren't for Celestia."

Now Pinkie was really getting into the personal questions.

"Ooh, ooh! And what about Sunset Shimmer? I mean, first you were enemies and she was constantly plotting against you and then she turned into a raging demon and tried to kill you and then you blasted her with the rainbow blast and then she was all good..."

She had entered full pinkie rambling mode.

"...come to think of it did she just have a change of heart or did the rainbow do a nightmare moon on her and force her good? Wait that's like totally against the meaning of free will and stuff. And then you two were friends and defeated the sirens together and you and her kept in touch with the journals and then you started asking her if she wanted help with the library and then you were spending so much time together and then you developed a small crush on her and then she found that book and you started researching it and...are you okay Twilight?"

The alicorn had stopped in her tracks completely. "Say that again?"

"...are you okay Twilight?" she responded in the exact same pitch, tone and volume.

"No, right before that."

Pinkie's eyes blinked rapidly as she made a video rewinding sound (that was Typical Pinkie Pie for you). "...and you were spending so much time together and then you developed a small crush on her and then..."

"WHAT?!" Twilight shouted, slightly stunned with surprise.

"What do you mean WHAT?!"

"What I **mean** is that I do not have a crush on Sunset Shimmer!" Twilight was bewildered at the thought.

"Ye,s you do." The earth pony replied with her usual smile.

"I do not!"

"Yes, you do."

"I do not!"

"Yes, you do."

"I do no--look Pinkie we're starting to act like childish school fillies. This conversation is over."

"Awwwwwww, but I was having so much fun."

"I don't have a crush on Sunset and that's final. I'm completely straight. Completely." Why was her heart racing so fast? "Besides, most states, politicians and higher ups would look down heavily on a homosexual or bisexual princess."

"Lyra and Bon-Bon seem to be doing fine."

"Pinkie, do you even understand that there is a difference between a musician, a confectionist (baker) and **one of the rulers of the very land we live in**? I would likely be rejected by society, and that could extend to the other princesses for making me an alicorn in the first place! The entire monarchy could be thrown into CHAOS!"

Pinkie giggled at Twilight's banter. "Oh Twilight, Its so funny when you take things too seriously. Just the way your eyes go all...oh look we're here!"

The store was located near the town square, with town hall just visible behind the building. The store itself was painted in a design like a fractured mirror, each fracture a different color. Red, emerald, cyan, and yellow. On the front was a brown double door, and on each side was a large window, displaying a large variety of random objects.

'I hope he's in a good mood.' Even with the help of Pinkie Pie, this certain stallion could be impossible to deal with if he wasn't in the right state.

As soon as they walked through the door, a small box flew through the air, crashing against the wall above them and spraying nuts and bolts all over them.

'Crap...'

" **Where in the name of Celestia are my damn pages?!** " Cried a deep masculine voice that sounded almost unnatural. " **I need those freakin' PAGES!** "

From the door behind the store desk entered a grey earth pony stallion. From a distance he would look like any normal pony, but from where Twilight and Pinkie were standing, they could see an unnaturally colored blood red mane, but the most notable feature were the eyes. They were pitch black, with irises the same color of his mane, and no pupils were present. The two black and red orbs stared at the mares with pure rage.

" **Oh great! Customers! That's exactly what I needed!** " He grumbled through clenched teeth while shoving multiple objects off his counter and looking in multiple drawers.

"Uuuuuum..." Twilight approached the stallion nervously. "Good morning, Fracture."

" **Oh, royal customers! That's just greeeeeaaaaat! As if I wasn't already working my ass off!** " Twilight had to duck as a kettle was chucked at her head, wether it was deliberate or not is unknown. " **So what would you like, hmmm?! Lamps? Maps? Changeling repellant? Or, just maybe, would you like to GET THE TARTARUS OF MY STORE AND LEAVE ME ALONE!** "

The princess had to duck again as a hammer was thrown at her, this time seeming a lot more intentional. First contact was failing. It was time to bring out the big guns.

"Pinkie Pie, would you please tell Fracture that I would like to buy an advanced guide to ancient magical symbols."

The pink earth pony happily bounded towards the unstable stallion, dodging an entire chair while doing so.

"What's gotten you so upset, Fracture?" She asked, a happy smile still beaming from her face.

The counter shook as Fracture's front hooves slammed on top of it. The stallion looked at Pinkie in the face with a seriously pissed off expression.

" **I was in the process of writing the single greatest Daring Do fanfiction in the history of all damn Equestria. And it just so happens that I woke up this morning to discover that I have no idea WHERE THE BUCK I PUT THE PAGES!** "

He continued to throw objects off his desk, from pencils to whole cupboards, more likely to release his anger than to try and find his pages.

Pinkie continued to stare at the drama with a huge smile. "Did you try looking in your room?"

" **Where...do you think...I looked...IN THE FIRST PLACE?!** "

"The dining room?"

" **I already looked there!** "

"The attic?"

" **I don't have an attic!** "

"The counter?"

" **What the buck do you think I'm doing?!** "

"The bathroom?"

" **Are you just an idiot?!** "

"Yes!"

The red eyes seemed to glow with pure fury as he stared the elated pink pony in the eyes.

" **Keep this up...and I will unleash the Kumbertish upon you!** "

Pinkie's expression suddenly turned to one of complete horror. "No...no, no, no...Not the Kumbertish!"

" **Yes the Kumbertish!** "

"No, please! In the name of Celestia! In the name of Luna! In the name of sweet Lauren Faust above! Anything but the Kumbertish!"

" **Mwahahahaha!** "

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The screaming and shouting was suddenly replaced by awkward silence. The two earth ponies just stared at each other.

"What's the Kumbertish?"

Fracture put on a face of pondering. " **I actually have no idea.** "

There was another round of awkward silence, followed by the two of them falling over in laughter. Twilight couldn't resist the urge to giggle at it herself.

When the stallion got up from behind his desk, his eyes had gone from black to normal white, and his mane and irises had gone from blood red to bright yellow, with pupils now present in his eyes.

"That was some of the most fun I've had all week." He giggled. "You know what, the fanfiction can wait. Business should always come before creative contributions to your fandom."

Twilight sighed with relief and approached the counter. "That's good to hear. Now fracture, I need an advanced guide to ancient magical symbols, and while we're at it I would also like a model-300 FRC microscope. I hope that isn't a problem."

He put on another face of pondering, and perked up suddenly. "Yeah, I think I got some of those in my upstairs storage room. I'll just go fetch those."

As he walked up the stairs, Twilight turned to face Pinkie. "Pinkie that was amazing! I don't think I've ever seen anypony convert Fracture from one mood to another like that."

Pinkie performed a smile that had a hint of smugness. "Twi, never doubt Pinkamena Diane Pie when it comes to bringing a smile to the face of the common pony."

"Yeah, I guess I never--"

She was cut off by the sound of an elated cry.

They turned around to see Fracture running down the stairs with a bronze colored microscope, a purple book, and a collection of pages. Another noticeable difference was the fact that his eyes had gone black again, and his pupils had disappeared, but his irises and mane were now cyan.

"This is great!" He yelled in voice filled with joy." I was coming back from the storage room with the stuff, but I thought I'd take a quick wizz, and it turns out, **I DID LEAVE THE PAGES IN THE BATHROOM!** "

He projected a huge smile that seemed to radiate the very essence of happiness.

"Well that's good to hear. So, how much would these items be?"

"That would be 320 bits please."

A purse was levitated out of Twilight's small bag, and she pulled out the exact amount of bits she needed. Being a princess did have certain economic advantages.

Fracture snagged the money and presented Twilight with a bag of her purchased items. "Great, thanks for your business. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to the passionate love scene between Daring Do and Ahuizotl junior."

The two mares left the stallion scribbling furiously at a sheet of paper, with an almost disturbing look on his face.

***

"...and so there we were, the Cyberponies slowly closing in on us, going all 'Delete! Delete!'. And then the doctor was like 'Bananas are good.' and chucked this banana at them. And all this white mush splatted across the leaders face, confusing the group. Using the time this bought us, he used his sonic screwdriver to open the door, get us through, and lock the door behind us. It was one of the most fun near death experiences I've ever had!"

As fun as Pinkies stories were to listen to, Twilight had to get a point across.

"Uh, Pinkie, its likely that Sunset will be at the castle when we get there, so, could you please keep your little your little theories to yourself. You're not exactly the best at keeping quiet when something's on your mind."

"Whatever you say Twilight, I still don't consider them theories though."

"Just don't talk about them."

The daylight reflected off the castle walls, causing it to sparkle like a star (as in a very small star that doesn't disintegrate everything in a ten mile radius). It felt quite fitting, given that it was Twilights castle and a star happened to be her cutie mark.

When they got to the throne room, there was a truly surprising sight before them.

A table was set in the middle of the ring of thrones, with a game of Oubliettes and Ogres set up, and playing it was one of the most unlikely groups imaginable. Sunset Shimmer, Spike, and Discord.

Sunset's head was buried in some kind of manual. "Spike, roll for damage."

The dragon shook his fist and released an eight sided dice, which revealed a four. He looked at the yellow unicorn nervously. "How am I doing?"

She looked at him with a face that revealed no emotion. "I've got good news and bad news for your archer, Spike. While he has successfully defeated the zebra witch, his arms have been cursed. He will have to use only melee attacks for the next three turns."

Spike responded by raising his arms in dismay. "Curses! That removes half my combat bonuses!"

Sunset looked at the Draconequus. "Discord, your turn."

The spirit of chaos was dressed in really well done elf cosplay, complete with a frighteningly real looking great sword strapped to his back. He rolled the dice, which projected six dots, causing him to pump his fist in success.

"Looks like you've escaped from the goblin trap, please move six spaces."

As Discord moved his figurine across the board, Pinkie Pie bounded towards them. "Ooh, ooh! Can I join in?!"

The three players turned to see the two mares that had just entered the room. While Discord was still focusing on the game, Spike and Sunset responded with happy smiles, the latter walking over to Twilight and giving her an affectionate hug.

The princess couldn't resist the blushing. "Its great to see you Sunset."

"I know." The yellow mare broke the hug. "It feels like its been so much longer than five days."

"So do you want to go to the library now?"

"Excuse me!" Called Discord. "We are in the middle of an Oubliettes and Ogres game. I spent countless hours working on this cosplay, and I would hate it to go to waste. By the way miss Shimmer, its your turn."

Sunset walked over to the table, sitting on her chair and looking back at the violet alicorn. "Sorry Twilight, I'd like to finish this game before getting on to the other stuff. Don't worry, the average Oubliettes and Ogres game only takes about three days."

Twilights jaw dropped in shock, and Sunset responded by bursting into laughter.

"I'm just kidding. It shouldn't take that much longer than two hours, you can watch if you want."

"Sure, why not?"

***

The game took more like **three** hours, but it was a pretty big joy to watch. As a fan of the works of J.R.R. Trotkien, she could appreciate the effort and lore put behind it.

When it was finished Discord and Pinkie Pie left the castle, Pinkie saying she had some rainbow cupcakes to bake, and Discord saying that Angel bunny had some tormenting to cash in.

Twilight, Sunset and even Spike went on to working in the library, as was promised. While Spike was put to placing new arrivals in their bookshelves (Twilight was sure that he could at least do it right), the two mares continued what they had been doing previously, properly organizing the books and collecting the ones that Twilight needed.

Twilight was dismayed to see the sun slowly setting, and the sky darkening. After the sky went full black, Sunset uttered the words Twilight had been dreading for some time.

"Its getting pretty late, it looks like I'll have to soon."

Twilight's heart sank at the sentence. Sure she would get to see her tomorrow, but she felt like she hadn't seen enough of Sunset for the time that had passed.

"I wish you could stay. I was...going to do some research on Starswirl's book. I was hoping I could read it with a fellow student of Celestia..."

Sunset's face turned to one of thinking, then perked up suddenly. "Wait just a minute."

She ran over to the mirror and levitated the book onto the pedestal, activating the process of transferring energy and initiating mechanisms. As the portal opened, it looked like Sunset intended on leaving, causing a feeling of dismay to explode in Twilight. She was surprised to see the unicorn pull a cellphone out of her bag, and even more surprised to see her successfully get a hold of someone.

"Hey miss Peachbottom? Yeah its Sunset. About the whole 'overnight' thing..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While the original version of this chapter on Fimfiction had Fracture's dialouge in different colours depending on his mood, sadly, I don't know how to do that on this site. If anyone knows how I'd appreciate the information.
> 
> Unfortunately Fracture has little reason to exist. He was originally meant to be me putting myself in the story, but I figured that was a bit egotistical and thought I'd just make it an Original character instead.


	5. A Look At The Interdimensional-Sunset Shimmer

By the bright light of the two mare's horns, the words were revealed out of the darkness of the night. Words written centuries ago by Starswirl the Bearded himself.

The Alicorn was almost shaking with excitement.

This earned an eyebrow raise from Sunset. "Wow, I'd expect you to have read this already."

"I have!" Her voice was at a higher pitch than usual. "Twice! But now...I'm reading it with a microscope! And a guide!"

Sunset continued to stare at Twilight with her eyebrow still raised. The lavender mare's eyes widened. "Oh, and with you of course."

"No, its not that, its just...I'm still getting used to your...reactions to books."

Twilight's gaze dropped to the floor. "Yeah...sorry." Her voice had a hint of sadness in it.

"No worries. Its...kinda cute."

Despite the darkness, Sunset thought she saw the Alicorn's face start to blush.

'Dammit Shimmer, did you really have to say that! Way to make everything awkward!'

"Why don't we start looking through the book now..." Sunset just wanted to forget about what she just said.

And forget it she did. The book was filled with information the unicorn never dreamed she would ever learn. The pages hadn't even mentioned the human world yet there was still a gold mines worth of magical knowledge. The theories he had on Inter-dimensional travel, the construction of his prototypes, even the studies he had taken on the subject. The book actually talked about Starswirl's years as little more than a student! She had rarely even thought about something like that! It was actually kinda weird to think that someone she had grown up learning about had to spend a period of their life learning themselves.

They had barely even scratched the surface with just reading the first few pages. Twilight had recently gotten hold of an advanced guide to ancient magical symbols, and thanks to this, some of the things written in the book were much easier to understand, and the two mares might have been able to replicate some of the magic that was mentioned among the pages.

It was a bit into the book that Starswirl started to talk about the prototype mirror he had built before the one that lead to the human world. Sunset was honestly surprised, she had read all she could about the mirror (without Celestia catching her), and she hadn't learned anything about a prototype mirror. She was even more surprised when Twilight said that she and the others actually encountered the prototype themselves, and told this long story about an alternate universe with an evil Celestia, a good Sombra, and a tear jerking love story with a surprisingly deep and tragic ending (Twilight had been on some weird adventures).

The book got really interesting when Starswirl started to write a log on his progress with the main portal.

_ 12-3-27 _

_ I hope to accomplish more with this mirror compared to the last one. If my theory on dimensions and pocket dimensions is correct, then the prototype has only sent me to pocket dimensions. That's just boring! Wheres the fun in travelling to alternate universes when its just full of different versions of ponies I already know? I want to see a universe made completely of cake, where it rains chocolate milk and has grass comprised of solid frosting. Okay, I am very unlikely to find a universe like that. _

_ Note: Try and create something like this as side project. _

Sunset was quite surprised by the tone of the entry. It didn't really...match the image of Starswirl the Bearded that she was usually exposed to.

"Starswirl sounds like a...strange guy."

"Yeah..." Twilight seemed almost as weirded out as the unicorn. "Luna did mention that his personality was comparable to that of Pinkie Pie's."

It sounded like a good idea to just continue reading.

_ 14-3-27 _

_ I managed to replicate the process of puncturing the inter-dimensional barriers. However, this new portal is more or less the same as the prototype. It may take a while to fine tune it to the point where I can travel to more than just a pocket dimension. Possibly a few months. In the mean time, my cake palace has begun construction. _

The rest was just updates on his progress that spanned over a few months. A couple of entries in, it appeared that Starswirl had successfully built a bridge between Earth and Equestria.

_ 2-7-27 _

_ It worked! It finally worked! Traveling to alternate universes alone was awesome, but this was something else entirely! The world was filled with intelligent creatures unlike anything I've ever seen before. I intend on taking a trip into the new world again once I put together a good traveling kit. _

_ 3-7-27 _

_ I took a short trip into the new dimension and got a closer inspection at the specimens. I'll record what I know about them in my creatures section, but one of the most interesting things is that they are still alternate versions of ponies I already know. This may indicate that it's still a pocket dimension, but I don't really care anymore. This world is far too interesting to just abandon. And that wasn't all, somehow I de-aged during the inter-dimensional travel and found myself in a younger body than my current one. Another interesting thing to note is that my magic no longer worked in this world. This could come together with some of my theories on the laws of science in different universes. I would have spent more time there, but the locals chased me out with pitchforks and torches, calling me a 'Dee-mond' or something. I got a sample of one's hair, so I should be able to create an effective transformation modification and attach it to the mirror. That should allow me to be able to travel there freely without being interrupted by angry mobs. _

_ 4-7-27 _

_ The modification was very successful. When I walked through the portal I was turned into one of the alternate world's creatures at the same time. It was a strange sensation and It took a while to get used to the basics of the new body, but I managed to take enough control of it to successfully navigate the world, though it was a lot harder to take notes. Another interesting thing I discovered was that the princesses don't seem to exist there. The de-ageing process may indicate that the alternate versions in this world are younger than the ones in my dimension, and it could be that the princesses haven't been born yet. I could be wrong, and I just haven't found the alternate Princesses yet. I also took a few more samples of DNA from the worlds various creatures so that the modification can turn other species' into creatures of more compatible DNA. I bring this up because I decided to bring one of my dragon assistants with me, and his alternate form didn't look quite right, in the sense that I've seen deformed, retarded, two headed diamond dogs that look more natural than him in that form. I wonder if a dragons DNA would be compatible with a dogs? That'll be another side project. I intend on returning to the new world tomorrow. _

_ 5-7-27 _

_ It's strange. The portal seems to have closed for some reason. I checked every inch of the mirror, but it hasn't been damaged in any way. It may have something to do with the position of the stars or something ethereal like that. I've placed an arcane meter next to it, so I should be able to check on how much energy it's conducting. I'll be keeping tabs on the changing energy. _

_ 6-10-28 _

_ Over the past year there hasn't been much change in the energy levels, but there's been a sudden major drop on the arcane meter. I'm concerned that this may mean that the portal will never open again, but if the laws of equal and opposite reactions can be applied, it may be that in another fifteen moons an opposite reaction to this event will occur, and the alternate world will be accessible again. In the mean time I'll continue to monitor the portals activities. _

_ 7-1-30 _

_ I was right! Hooray! After approximately thirty moons, the portal is finally open again. This has given me the opportunity to calculate how long the portal remains open, and how long it remains dormant. This has also of course given me the opportunity to continue researching the alternate dimension. I may even bring Celestia with me on my research trips, though after the whole dramatic event with Sombra, I'm not sure if she's ready yet. _

As interesting as Starswirl's exploits were, Sunset couldn't help but yawn. The words began to blur as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

"Sunset..." Said Twilight. "If you're feeling tired, we can go to bed now. There's always the opportunity to read it some other time, and I don't want to force you to stay up all night."

Sunset looked at Twilight face to face. The merge of Sunset's aqua glow and Twilight's magenta glow caused a beautiful cyan light to shine across the alicorn's face.

'She looks...really pretty.' She thought. 'Whoa Sunset, keep those thoughts out of your head. You're just really tired.'

"Sure." She said drowsily. "Why not?"

The book became encased in magenta light, and slammed its pages shut as it was placed back onto Twilights desk. A yawn escaped from Twilight's mouth, and she guided Sunset out of the library, the latter trying to stay upright as she walked.

The castle was beautiful enough during the daytime, but during the night, with the light of the mare's glowing horns reflecting off the shadowy crystal walls, it was something if an experience. Sunset wished that she could appreciate it more, but she was too busy trying to simply stay awake.

Sunset's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden feeling of her bumping into Twilight.

"Oops." The alicorn almost fell over before balancing herself on her four hooves. "Wow, I guess you are really tired. Well, its a good thing we've arrived at the guest room."

She used her magic to open the door and light up the room inside, revealing a surprisingly large chamber with a crystal themed bed, a wardrobe, a desk and chair, and a large window blocked off by curtains.

"Thanks...Twi..." Sunset stumbled over to the bed. "I guess I'll...see you...in the morning."

"You too, Sunset." Twilight said with a smile, closing the door behind the unicorn.

Despite the pitch black darkness, Sunset still managed to find her way over to the bed, and let sleep consume her mind as she crashed onto the soft, duvet covered mattress.

***

The red corridor was back.

Sunset looked back at the path behind her. Whatever it led to was cut off by black shadowy darkness. It didn't matter anyway. She knew that she couldn't go back. All she could do was walk forward into the pitch black ahead, even if she didn't know what lay ahead of her.

As she walked onwards, she once again looked at the shifting cinnamon marks on the walls. The shapes they took didn't look familiar, but for some reason they disturbed her to the point where she couldn't look at the walls anymore.

But the scariest thing wasn't the images on the walls, or the darkness. And it wasn't the return of the red corridor either.

The scariest thing was the lack of voices.

No matter how far Sunset walked on, she couldn't hear the slightest hint of sound. She should have been glad at this, but all it did was make her feel uneasy. It reminded her of that time in the human world when she made the mistake of trying to play _Five Nights At Freddy's_. It didn't matter whether or not one of the animatronics was at your door or not, there was always a feeling of deadly stress and uneasiness.

Like the previous night, a light appeared at the end of the tunnel. But unlike the previous night, she didn't run towards it instantly. In fact, she stopped in her tracks completely. What if there was the same room at the end of the corridor as last time? She couldn't experience that again.

But she couldn't go back either.

Reluctantly, she slowly trotted forward into the light.

What lay at the end of the corridor wasn't a room of the same color. In fact, it was nothing like the room from the previous night. What she found was...her room?

The floor was comprised of brown wooden boards, and the walls were a simple beige color. The room had nothing else besides two plain windows on one wall, and six identical beds. But the shocking thing about the scene was that on top of one of the beds she saw...herself?

That didn't make any sense. First of all, why were there two of her? Secondly, she was human. Sunset looked down and saw her front hooves. Yeah, she was still a pony. She came closer to the other Sunset to see what she was doing.

There was an expression on her face that spoke of malicious intent, and she was in the process of typing something on her phone. The pony Sunset moved behind the human to get a better look. She was sending a text message to Pinkie Pie. Okay, that seemed perfectly normal.

It was then that she saw something really odd. The spot where it was usually labelled as her own name was instead labelled as Fluttershy. That didn't make any sense. It was clearly Sunset's cellphone, so why was her identity labeled as Fluttershy? She then took a look at what the human Sunset was typing, and a wave of memories came rushing back to her.

**Now Pinkie, I want this auction to go off memorably, so I want you to pull off the biggest party you can put together. Confetti, subwoofers, balloons, the lot. Please don't disappoint me.**

As the human Sunset tapped the send button, a wicked laugh escaped from her mouth. The pony had no choice but to watch in horror.

She remembered that day. That was the day she had gotten hold of Fluttershy's e-mail details. The day she impersonated her and sent the message to Pinkie Pie asking for a huge party to be present at Fluttershy's auction at the animal shelter. But Fluttershy's auction was meant to be a quiet, serious event. If Pinkie threw a major party there, it would ruin it, along with her friendship with Fluttershy. But that was exactly what Sunset was trying to do at the time.

' _You idiot!_ ' Sunset thought, aiming her thoughts at her past self. ' _You'll destroy their friendship! Just like you did with Applejack and Rainbow dash! Pinkie Pie and Rarity! Just like you did with EVERYONE! You're creating fractures in something beautiful! Something you were never meant to touch! How could you do something so...EVIL?!_ '

And from underneath Sunset's bed, cracks started to emerge.

' _What?! This never happened!_ '

The cracks spread across the room, growing in size and numbers. They moved their way through the wooden floor, as the planks split and sent splinters flying. Then they made their way up the walls, shattering the windows and splitting the walls to reveal a dark blue void beyond them. The most horrifying thing was that when Sunset's past self turned around, there were cracks spread across her body as well, as if she was a fractured piece of pottery. And the most horrifying sight of all was when she shattered to pieces.

And as the human Sunset split into fractures, so did the entire room.

The pieces flew in multiple directions, and with nothing to support her, the amber mare fell into the abyss. All she could see around her was darkness, and all she could see below her was fire. She closed her eyes, screaming as she braced for the flames.

But the flames never came.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself standing on some kind of red platform. It took a second for her to realize that this was a hand. When she turned around, she found herself face to face with the she-demon.

Her skin was an unsaturated red, her hair, mane, and dress made seemingly out of fire. Upon her head was the crown with the star gem, and below that lay two pitch black eyes with aqua irises that stared into her soul. She would recognize the color of those irises anywhere. They were hers.

The she-demon that had once been Sunset Shimmer stared at the mare maliciously, the flames dancing around her. She began to laugh. A horrible wicked sound that had the stench of evil.

But the laughing was cut short as her head exploded into white light.

Her entire body disintegrated into white sparkles, and Sunset found herself falling into the abyss once more. But again, she didn't fall into the fire, but she didn't fall into the hands of her demon self either. Instead, she found herself on a flat blue floor, the color of a sapphire. As she looked up, she saw the white light that had destroyed her demon form. It had become a round shape, and looked almost solid. In fact, it looked kind of like...the moon.

And from the white light came the silhouette of an Alicorn, that flew down towards the amber unicorn. When it landed in front of her, she saw that it was a navy colored alicorn mare. Her mane was sapphire colored like the floor, and sparkled like the gemstone itself, but the most striking feature about it was that it shimmered and flowed like smoke. Her flank was pitch black, as if someone had poured ink on it, and her cutie mark was a white crescent moon. She was well dressed too, as she was sporting sparkling white hoof shoes, a black necklace with her cutie mark embedded on it, and atop her head was a simple triple pointed pitch black crown. She stared at sunset with light cyan eyes.

"Hello, Sunset Shimmer."

That voice took Sunset completely by surprise. It was one of the last voices she expected to hear in Equestria. It was a voice she heard several times at Canterlot high. A voice she usually encountered when she got in big trouble.

"Vice Principal Luna?" She asked.

"Excuse me?" Responded the alicorn with a confused look on her face.

Sunset booted up her brain into remembering that even if she was dreaming, she was still dreaming in Equestria, and that there were some slight differences between this place and Canterlot High.

"I mean...Princess Luna?"

The Alicorn's confused face faded away, and she spoke with a voice that sounded pretty regal, yet also pretty casual. "Yes, that is my name."

"Umm..." Sunset didn't really know what to say. "Why are you in my dream?"

Luna put on a slight smile. "As the Princess of the night, I have the ability to enter the dreams of my subjects. I can assure you, you are not imagining me. I am what you might call 'the real deal'."

"That's.." Sunset was still struggling for words. "Actually kinda creepy."

The navy Alicorn let out a slight giggle. "Yes, I suppose it is. But I don't do something like this unless you are in need of serious guidance." She then put on a more serious face. "I know a lot about you Sunset Shimmer. When you can enter the mind of anypony, you'll find that you get to know some things. And one thing I know is that this isn't the first time you've suffered a dream like this."

Sunset found it hard to look straight at the Alicorn's face. "I don't know why I keep having them. I thought that I had let go of my past. And I'm pretty sure that I did. My friends at Canterlot High have accepted me despite what I've done, and they've helped to put it behind me. But recently...I've been having these nightmares. It's like my past is physically chasing me, and I just can't outrun it."

Suddenly, her demon form rose out of the ground. It wasn't moving, and looked as if were nothing more than an apparition, but Sunset couldn't help but feel extremely uneasy at the sight of it. The strange thing though, was that it wasn't alone. Next to it stood a large black Alicorn, whose mane was like sparkly blue mist. She wore light blue armor that was comprised only of a helmet, boots and a chestplate. Her cutie mark matched Luna's exactly, but was a pale blue instead of white. Both apparations were frozen in a position of maniacal laughter, their white fangs shining.

Luna approached the black Alicorn image with a look of sadness. "I understand you Sunset Shimmer. Though we have never met, you and I are extremely alike. You are aware of the story of Nightmare Moon, correct?"

Sunset nodded in response. While just about every pony in Equestria knew who Nightmare Moon was, she was reminded of stories she had read during her studies, and stories she had heard very recently from Twilight and her friends. It was strange to think that the almost normal looking mare in front of her had once been the monster that had tried to bring forth eternal night to Equestria.

"Even now, I still feel the backlash of my actions as Nightmare Moon." Luna was face to face with the apparition of her past self. 'While most of Equestria has forgiven me, I still can't help but notice those who still shiver in fear at my presence. I too have been plagued by nightmares similar to these, and there are days when I look at my shadow and see remnants of the mare in the moon. That is why I can relate to you Sunset Shimmer."

Sunset stared at the Alicorn before her, and then at the two monsters on display. She had never really thought about how much she and Luna had in common. Of course, she had never met her, and didn't even know that much about her, but it was still strange that this had never occurred to her based on what she'd heard.

Both she and the princess had walked a path of darkness, become complete monstrosities, and were reformed by Twilight and her friends. And both of them had recently sought redemption for their mistakes. And from the conversation they'd been having, it seemed that both of them had trouble letting go of those mistakes.

"So...how do I stop...having these dreams?"

The princess looked down on her with a motherly look. "The dreams will remain as long as there is something you doubt about yourself. Though you claim to have thought that you had gotten over your past mistakes, it seems that there is something in your subconscious suggesting otherwise."

"What am I meant to do?"

"That is unclear, even to me. This is something that your subconscious says is a problem, but you don't have the exact answer of what it is. All I know is that your mind has projected an obstacle personal to you, and that means that you must be the one to overcome it."

"So...where do I start?"

Luna turned away and looked into the distance. "I've done all I can to help you by pointing out why you have these nightmares, but the rest of the journey you must travel on your own, but that dosn't mean that there isn't someone who can help you."

Suddenly, the landscape started to blur, and Sunset saw that the princess was crumbling away into white dust, which was being blown away by a non existent wind.

"Wait, Luna!" Sunset called. "Who's supposed to help me?! What can I do?! What does it all mean?!"

The princess just looked at Sunset as a sparkle briefly shined in her eye, before her head was also blown away as white dust. The blurring landscape consumed Sunset's vision, and everything went dark.

She woke up to find herself sitting up in the guest bed, small fragments of the morning light shining through the curtains. Her head felt fuzzy as her mind was slowly getting fully conscious.

_'What does it all mean?'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, for non comic readers, while Starswirl's exploits in the books were entirely created by me, they are heavily based off the 'Reflections' arc of the IDW comics. This also includes Twilight mentioning that Luna compared his personality to Pinkie's, which she did in said comics.


	6. A Day In Ponyville-Sunset Shimmer

Twilight happened to be the owner of one of the largest dining halls known to ponydom.

The hall itself was about the size of the apple family's barn. The walls were shiny blue crystal, much like that of the library, and littered with yellow glass windows. Under the blue ceiling hung a giant white crystal chandelier that lit up the room with a light similar to that of the morning sun. The oval table that Twilight was eating on was about as long as the average living room, with twenty white crystal chairs set up around it. The alicorn sat at the end of the table, on a chair that looked similar to a throne, and in front of her was a plate of delicious waffles.

She was about half way through her waffles when Sunset walked into the hall. There were dark circles under her eyes and her hair was a mess, giving her a sleepy look. Twilight had to admit, it made her look absolutely adorable.

' _Stop it Twilight. You are straight. Straight I tell you!_ '

"So, what's for breakfast?" asked the unicorn.

Twilight pointed at the larger plate in the middle of the table, which held a large number of both waffles and pancakes. Rushing out of the kitchen came Spike, with a little chefs hat on his head along with a small plate and some cutlery in his right hand. He ran to the chair where Sunset had decided to sit and quickly placed the plate in front of her before setting a knife and fork at one side. As soon as he was done, he ran straight back into the kitchen, likely to wash some dishes.

"Wow..." Sunset's eyes were wide with near amazement. "Some service you got here."

Twilight laughed a little. "Yeah. Spike is quite the chef. And waiter. And... pretty much everything else."

"So he's a collar short of being a slave?"

The lavender mare raised her hooves in innocence. "No, no, of course not. He actually enjoys it."

"Well, if this is the kind of service he gives everyday, he needs some serious paying."

"Oh come on, he's more or less family. He doesn't need to get paid for it. By living in this castle he pretty much already does."

"What ever you say, master." The unicorn said before digging into her syrup covered pancakes.

***

The Ponyville market was bustling with just as much activity as a town the size of Ponyville could produce. Each stall had at least one person haggling with its merchant, and the space that the stalls surrounded was filled with dozens of people looking for things to buy. This left the two mares unaware of what to do.

Sunset stared at the scene with eyes of wonder. "Wow. I never thought Ponyville was capable of something like this."

"Well it is coming close to winter. People will be wanting to stock up on food, along with gifts for the various upcoming holidays. But even besides that, this is a pretty surprising site. Hearths Warming Eve won't be for another two months."

The yellow mare raised an eyebrow at Twilight. "Are you sure you'll be able to get your stuff in this chaos?"

"Hello. Princess of Equestria."

"Right."

The title of princess seemed to have lost its value recently, as that did little to protect them from the onslaught of waiting, haggling, and dodging the occasional crazy shopper running towards another stall.

The first stall the duo went to happened to be non other than Fracture's, who turned emerald green with tears in his eyes as his mother forced him to sell Twilight his copy of Alchemy For Idiots. She took pity on the poor stallion and paid a whopping one hundred and thirty bits for it, which was a lot more than it honestly should have cost. Next was getting a few quills and paper from the sofa clerk, and they had to wait a surprisingly long ten minute queue. This wasn't really a bother to the two mares, who were happy to see so many ponies desiring to write. Afterwards, Twilight remembered a recommendation from Rarity to get some flowers to spice up certain rooms in her castle, particularly the dining hall. They went over to Rose's stall to find a less surprising twenty minute queue, which rewardingly paid off with them getting a hold of some Lavenders, Fuchsias, Bluebells, and a large variety of other flowers and bouquets.

A lucky break came for the two when word got out that there was apparently a goof off going on downtown which happened to be a three way between Pinkie Pie, Discord, and Cheese Sandwich himself. While most ponies flocked like a stampede to the scene, the rest went the smart route and used this distracting opportunity to get their shopping done without the chaos to stall them. Among these ponies were Twilight and Sunset, as the princess had experienced enough of Pinkie Pie to not see this event as once in a lifetime, and frankly the idea of a goof off between those three sounded almost scary.

It only took about another ten minutes to get everything else Twilight needed. A couple of books, clothes, and food was all that they had come for, and they left with this and more. The two mares decided to go over to the Ponyville café for some lunch before heading back to Twilight's castle.

But a few minutes into the walk, there was a sight that caught Twilight's eye. A sight that caused her to stop walking, turn around, and take in the full view.

While most of the building's remains had been removed by the Ponyville construction team, there was one thing that they had been unable to get rid of. And this was the black, smouldered stump of what had once been a great oak tree.

That black stump used to be Twilight's library, and her home for several years. It was originally just the place where she was staying temporarily during her visit to Ponyville, but after the defeat of Nightmare Moon and her decision to live in Ponyville, it became her permanent home as a gift from Mayor Mare to thank her for what she'd done.

But, along with most of her personal possessions, it had been destroyed during her battle with lord Tirek.

The red door with the welcoming decoration of a lit candle, the upper balcony with the telescope that she would often use to stargaze, the ground floor with the shelves of precious books and the desk that she had spent whole nights studying on. In one explosive energy ball it had all been burnt to a crisp.

Several months had passed since then, but she still hadn't gotten over it. Even though she had gotten used to her new castle, and settled in comfortably, it didn't change the fact that her furniture, her clothes, her books, her **home** , were now little more than ashes.

Sunset just stood close by and watched her. Though she had never seen Twilight's old library before, the alicorn had told her enough about it for her to recognize the sight. Possibly to pay respect, she spent several moments standing next to Twilight and looking at the ruins in silence.

Twilight may have been staring at it a bit too long, since Sunset did eventually turn her head towards her.

"Are you okay?"

Twilight sighed a sad and heavy sigh, not looking back at the unicorn. "Its just..."

She could feel her voice cracking. "I'm still trying to get over the fact that this was my home for so many years, and now... its just... gone."

Sunset lowered her head and stared at the ground. "Every home I've lost was because of my own decisions. Having a home just taken from you, I honestly don't know how to deal with that, or how to help someone else deal with that."

The two mares continued to stare at the black stump in silence, before Sunset stretched her front hoof out and placed it around Twilight's back, gently pulling her close.

"It'll be alright. You have a new home now. And its... kind of a castle. That's a bit of an upgrade if you ask me."

Twilight sighed again. She didn't really expect someone who had lived most of their life in an orphanage to understand the emotional value of a real home, but she was glad to have a friend who was willing to put her hoof around her and try to be comforting.

She rested her head against Sunset's neck, and shed a small tear, hoping that the moment when they would have to separate wouldn't come for a long time.

***

"Are you sure you want to eat? I mean, after that incident with the tree, I wouldn't expect you to feel that hungry."

Twilight continued reading her book. "I'm fine. I was just...having a little moment that's all."

"Suite yourself." Said Sunset, who went back to reading her book.

Twilight tried to read her own book, but her mind was too distracted to really concentrate on it. The distraction in particular was the moment she had with Sunset near the tree. ' _First that embrace last week, now this._ ' She thought to herself. ' _You got a bit too intimate with Sunset there, Twilight. It has to stop. Are you trying to throw the monarchy into chaos?_ '

She looked over at the amber unicorn, who was busy reading Spells You Will Probably Never Learn. The look of her facial expression during reading, combined with her hair swaying in the slight breeze, caused a noticeable thumping in Twilight's chest.

' _I said stop it, me!_ '

A distraction from her inner dilemma came when Savoir Fare arrived with their food. In front of Sunset he placed a grain and hay sandwich, and in front of Twilight he placed a bowl of tomato soup.

Sunset put down her book. "Thanks, this looks delicious."

"Enjoy your meal." Replied the stallion, before he walked off to another table to receive more orders.

While Twilight was taking some time to blow off her spoonfuls of soup into cooling, before sipping them dry, Sunset had her sandwich finished in about three minutes. But rather than continue reading her book, she instead started to talk to Twilight about it, which the alicorn found to be a much better option for her.

"So Twilight, have you ever heard of an M.A.?"

Twilight sipped another spoonful. "No, I don't think I have."

"Well, the M.A. stands for magical alteration, and it comes in four types. The most common type is an M.A. Trowson, which turns an equine into another type of equine. Then there's an M.A. Coalson, which is much harder to accomplish, but expands to non equine species as well. Then there's an M.A. Mieson, which turns one type of pony into another type. And finally, this is the one I think you'll find the most interesting, the rarest type of M.A. is the M.A. Larson, which turns an average pony into an alicorn."

This made both of Twilights eyebrows rise. "You mean like...what Celestia did to me?"

Sunset replied with a smile and a nod. "The book almost described your situation exactly."

"So this is like, a spell, that **anyone** can learn?"

"No, it says that only a major alicorn like Celestia or Luna has enough power to succeed at the spell, anyone else would pretty much disintegrate if they managed to get at least halfway through the spell."

"I see," replied Twilight, who suddenly came to a realization. "You know, I'd expect that you would already have known the spell that creates an Alicorn if you went so far as to demand the title of princess from Celestia."

Any sign of happiness was suddenly sapped off Sunset's face, as she stared at her empty plate in silence.

' _You idiot! What were you thinking?! You can't just remind her of that day and expect her to take it with a pinch of salt! Why don't you just bring up the subject of her parents while your at it!_ '

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to bring that up! I was just..."

"Twilight, its fine. It doesn't exactly give me the best memories, but I'm sure you meant nothing by it." Sunset had a look on her face that spoke more of shame than sadness. "So I guess Celestia told you everything?"

"Not much more than that you were an ambitious student, you demanded alicornhood, and she renounced you as her student."

"Yeah..." She looked back at her plate. "I think you already know how I feel about my past."

There was a round of awkward silence shared between the two mares.

' _Think Twilight! Think! Change the subject before your friendship dies!_ '

"Soooooooo..." Stuttered Twilight, desperate to break the silence. "I don't really know all the details about your home...except for the fact that its an orphanage...and...stuff."

Sunset looked as ready to kill the awkward atmosphere as Twilight did. "Well, after I ended up in the human world, I had nowhere to go. So I took the obvious option and slept on the streets. It sounds bad I know, but I had the...well...evil determination to endure it. After a failed attempt at theft, I ended up at the local police station. Of course, they couldn't find any evidence of my very existence, so with no other ideas they shipped me off to the local orphanage. I'm no expert on law enforcement, but I'm pretty sure they weren't the smartest cops around."

Twilight giggled, not only at that last statement, but also because she was happy to see Sunset with a bit of enthusiasm again. She was also genuinely intrigued by Sunset's story. "So is there any detail about this orphanage that you'd care to tell me about."

Sunset started to smile. "Well, its run by this nice woman named Miss Peachbottom..."

"Miss Peachbottom?" Twilight was suddenly reminded of the day when she confused a country mare from Mustangia for the Equestria games instructor.

"Yeah?"

"Nothing. Continue."

"Yeah well, Peachbottom, really nice woman. She got me settled in the orphanage in no time, and is pretty much the closest thing I have to a mother. And its not just her, the entire orphanage is more or less my family. Caramel, Sweetcream, Rainbowshine, they're all like siblings to me." Her smile faded a bit. "I've tried to be more like a sister to them recently, but even they were sometimes victimized by my past actions. They've all forgiven me by now, but it doesn't change what I've done."

Twilight leaned over the table and stroked the unicorn's shoulder supportingly. "Sunset, how many times do I have to tell you to just move on. I mean, if I've forgiven you after you tried to kill me, than I don't think there's any reason to be so regretful."

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Well that's a good thing to bring up, that one time I tried to permanently end your very life. But I see where your coming from. Thanks, Twi."

Twilight beamed at the amber mare. "Anytime, Sunset."

Their little moment was interrupted by the return of Savoir Fare.

"Zat will be all I presume?" He asked.

"Thanks, could we have the bill please?"

***

Once the two mares got back to the castle, they found the place in a much better state than it had been when they had left, with the dishes cleaned, some more decor put up, and even some of the crystal furniture polished. This was all courtesy of Spike, who also went on to put away all the shopping that they had brought.

' _Wow._ ' Thought Twilight. ' _I guess Sunset was right. Spike does deserve a bit more reward than he gets. I should put something together for him when I have the time._ '

Twilight had already made up in her mind that today wasn't really a work day, so the duo spent the afternoon doing activities that would be considered 'a bit more fun' than sorting out a library or researching old magic. This included critiquing books together, discussions about their various idols, and having a go at a game of chess. It had honestly been a long time since Twilight had experienced a fun afternoon like this, since she had been doing a lot of work and studying after the Tirek incident. But as with the last week, the sun began to set, and this ironically meant that she had to say goodbye to Sunset.

The mirror was glowing pink with energy, ready for transportation, as Sunset packed her bag with the last of her things. It was a Sunday afternoon, and that meant school tomorrow for the unicorn, much to the Twilight's dismay.

"You got everything?"

In the aqua glow of Sunset's telekinesis, the bag was on her pack. "Yep, pretty much."

"Remember Sunset Shimmer, I'll be expecting a friendship report on my desk by Monday afternoon."

The two mares laughed at the statement, and held each other in a friendly hug.

"You know..." Uttered Sunset. "Just because I have school doesn't mean I can't still visit you."

Twilight parted from the hug and looked the yellow mare in the eye. "Its fine, Sunset, I'd love to see more of you, but you should never put your education in slight jeopardy just to visit me. Lets just keep it to the weekends."

Though Twilight meant what she said, it didn't mean she liked what she said. She wanted to see more of Sunset. Even though it only meant a gap of five days, there was something about it that made it feel so much longer.

"Whatever you say, Twilight," responded Sunset, who slowly walked in front of the mirror, before turning around and smiling at the lavender mare. "Bye."

And with that, Sunset Shimmer was gone.

Twilight stared at the pink glow of the mirrors glass for longer than was probably needed. The book than became encased in Twilight's magenta aura and was levitated off the pedestal, shutting the portal down.

The princess let a feeling of sadness fill her, before she was struck by a sudden thought.

' _Just because you don't have time to visit me, it doesn't mean that I don't have time to visit you._ '

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must apologise for that M.A. Larson joke. While I have seen it get praised for being funny, I still feel like it kind of distracts from the story, and may actually mess with show lore a bit.


	7. Unexpected Appearances-Sunset Shimmer

Sunset had to keep her fringe back from fluttering in her eyes. The wind in Canterlot city tended to pick up around winter times, so it was no surprise that she had little control over the state of her hair. She looked back to see that most of the other kids were having the same problem, though some had the intelligence to wear hats. The others were suffering from hair that seemed determined to break free from their scalps.

She walked over to the nearest orphan, Raspberry Roots, who was desperately trying to keep her hairstyle in place. "Isn't it kinda futile to try and fix your hair until we get on the bus?" Sunset asked.

Raspberry looked like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Are you kidding me! No one should suffer the sight of an obliterated hairstyle." She then went back to her pathetic attempts at restoring order to her hair.

Sunset turned her head to see the bus arriving. She had to stay back as all the more fashion orientated orphans rushed to escape the wrath of the convection currents. Afterwards, Sunset and the others entered the bus and selected their seats. She sat down near the back, and was joined by Coppermane, one of her male housemates. His short spiky hair was a brown color similar to the metal that he was named after, while his skin was an icy light blue.

She was on slight alert now. While she still considered all her fellow orphans good people, Coppermane was probably the snarkiest smartass at Miss Peachbottom's orphanage.

"So, how was your little trip to horseland?" he asked, in a tone of very little interest.

Sunset had to contemplate what he was saying for a second, before her memories fully kicked in. Even though it had been a while since that fall formal, it was still strange to think that everyone at Canterlot high, including her fellow orphans, were now aware of her equestrian origins.

"It was fine. Thanks for asking, I guess."

"Well why wouldn't it be fine, its the only thing you really do on weekends these days."

There was something about his tone that made Sunset feel slightly suspicious. "And is there anything wrong with that?"

"Oh nothing." There appeared to be a slight cocky smile showing on his mouth. "I'm just curious as to why you'd be spending so much time with miss pony princess. I may or may not expect you two to announce your engagement any day now."

"Oh ha ha," she said sarcastically. And while she was used to Coppermane's brand of insults and sarcasm, she was still had to force back any signs of embarrassment. "And what makes you say that?"

"Well, for one, I don't think you give any of your other _friends_ half as much attention as this princess of yours, heck, I don't think even Flash Sentry was given the luxury of visits every weekend."

"Well..."

Not for the first time, Sunset found herself at a loss for words at his wit. The thing was that he was absolutely right. She hadn't really liked her ex-boyfriend, and saw him as more of a tool in her conquest for popularity back in her less moral days, so spending more time with Twilight than she ever did with him made sense. But it dawned on Sunset how much more time she had been spending with Twilight than any of her other friends.

"Y'know what, you look like you're going through an inner emotional crisis, so...I'm gonna go find another seat." Presenting a sly smile, he unstrapped his seatbelt and walked over to the back of the bus.

' _Did he just sit here for the sole purpose of confusing me?_ ' Thought Sunset.

Whatever his intentions were, he had certainly put her into deep thinking mode.

What was it that made her spend more time with Twilight? All of her other friends were good people. It was hard not to enjoy being with Fluttershy, with her kindness and sweet nature. Applejack was a hard working and devoted friend that could also make for a good role model. The same could also be said for Rarity, who was always willing to do favors for you, along with always having advice to give. Rainbow Dash's loyalty and competitive nature made her a complete joy to hang out with. And given time, even Chrysalis herself would be powerless against the urge to love Pinkie Pie.

But despite all the loveable things about those five, the urge to spend time with Twilight overpowered most of the urges to spend time with anyone else. For some reason she felt... **drawn** to Twilight. But what was it about her that clicked with Sunset so well.

She thought about it. Both Twilight and Sunset were former students of princess Celestia, that was one thing. This similarity meant that they enjoyed many similar things. Twilight was one of the very few people she could discuss books and intellectual knowledge with, and the fact that they had studied under the same mentor had built a certain bond between them. But despite this, they didn't exactly have the same personality. Though both of them loved books, Twilight was certainly the nerdier of the two, always ready to blurt her knowledge out like a living Encyclopedia, and she had an obsession with details, checklists and schedules that made her seem almost unstable at times. This contrasted with Sunset's more easygoing personality, but she couldn't help but love it.

She couldn't help but love it.

Wherever her thoughts were going then were halted by the sound of everyone getting off the bus. She looked out the window to see the grounds of Canterlot High laid out before her. As she walked outside, she felt that the strong winds had become more of a breeze, which made sense considering the school grounds had a lot more open space than the narrow streets that the bus stop was located at.

Among the school grounds were multiple buses and cars, spewing out student after student from all of CHS's various cliques. Athletes, techies, rockers, fashionistas, and just about every category that a person can fit into.

As Sunset approached the front entrance of the building, she looked to her left to see the school statue. The statue itself wasn't too special, just a large white horse proudly displaying its front legs. It was the pedestal that the horse was placed on that caught Sunset's attention. On each side of the cubic pedestal was a mirror, the back one being the portal to Equestria.

She felt the huge urge to run over to the statue and jump into the portal. To see Twilight again and get to spend time in the library together. But she knew she couldn't do that for two reasons. One, the portal probably wasn't active at the moment. Two, she had school to go to, and she didn't intend on abandoning her education.

And any urges she was feeling were disrupted by a sudden whisper.

" _Psst. Sunset Shimmer._ "

She turned around to find a grey plastic bin placed before her. It was weird enough that she heard a whisper come from it, but she had never seen a bin placed out on the school grounds before, they were always indoors, and the school didn't have grey plastic bins. She opened the lid and looked inside to see absolutely nothing, which was also strange.

"Uh...hello?" She asked the bin, immediately realizing that she was talking to a bin. She decided that she had just imagined the voice and turned away, before she heard another whisper.

"Hey, don't walk away from me."

Sunset turned around sharply to see that there was still nothing but a grey plastic bin.

"Okay, what's going on here?" She asked in an annoyed voice.

Than, to her shock, the bin suddenly grew a pair of yellow eyes and a mouth with a large sharp tooth.

"Hello Sunset Shimmer." It said in a voice that she now recognized fully.

"Discord?"

The face on the bin smiled. "Why Sunset, I would say you were surprised to see me."

There were about a bajillion questions in Sunset's head right now. What was Discord doing here? How was he using magic? What the... WHAT?!

She cleared her head and asked one of the more important questions. "How...how are you using magic?! There isn't any magic in this world!"

"Well if you recall miss Shimmer, there does seem to be some traces of magic in this world, since the Sirens and the Elements of Harmony could access their personal magic reserves, even if ponies can't connect to the magic in Equestria. I'm not too surprised that I can tap into my own magic reserves, though I must say that I am very pleased."

The bin grew a grey arm that snapped its fingers. Sunset heard a thud behind her and turned around to see the horse statue galloping down the streets, as the pedestrians looked on in horror.

"Hey! Put that back!"

In another flick of his fingers, the horse was back on the pedestal, but there were already a few people who had collapsed at the sight.

"Thank you." She turned to face the bin again. "What are you even doing here?"

Discord looked almost appalled at the question. "Do you think I'd pass up the opportunity to go and visit another dimension? Pfft. Perish the thought you silly little filly."

"How the hell did you even get here?"

He looked slightly confused. "Hell?"

Sunset realized that she forgot Discord was Equestrian. "Basically a human version of Tartarus. Although, there was a Tartarus in Greek myth..."

"Yeah. Yeah. I get it." He interrupted. "To answer your question, the portal was already open, so I thought I might as well take the opportunity."

"Wait, it was already open?" Sunset was getting curious now. "Why?"

His yellow eyes widened. "Oops. I almost spoiled the surprise. Shame on me. Best be off now. Time to find that janitor me..."

In a white flash, the grey bin had completely disappeared, leaving Sunset very confused.

'Why would the portal already be open?' She thought. A possible answer grew in the back of her head, but she dismissed it.

Inside the building she found the school community, students and staff alike, doing their usual morning activities. The actual lessons weren't going to start for about twenty minutes, so everyone had plenty of time to get ready or just chill out. The hallway was filled with a bunch of students either going through their lockers or chatting with their peers. As she passed the staff room she caught a glimpse of Miss Cheerilee, Mr. Neigh and Mr. Donkey talking over coffee.

While Sunset was approaching her own locker she checked her schedule. Math, Science, English, and...Geography. After finding and collecting everything she needed, she closed the locker behind her and continued walking down the hallway.

She and the girls usually met up in the music room. Even when they weren't practicing for any event that the Rainbooms were attending, it still felt fit to hang out in.

As she approached the music room she could already hear people talking. She listened closely, and recognized the voices of Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack. Fluttershy was probably there as well, but you could never hear her in a different room. They sounded pretty happy about something.

When she opened the door, she found a surprising site before her.

She found the group standing amongst all the musical equipment, only it was one member larger than usual.

The lavender skinned girl waved her hand a little. "Hi Sunset."

"Twilight?"

She walked over and gripped Sunset in a small hug, causing the latter's heart rate to increase.

"Well this is an...unexpected surprise."

"I know right!" said Rainbow Dash. "Fluttershy found her sitting outside on the outside pedestal earlier this morning."

Twilight smiled awkwardly. "Everyone back in Equestria was busy, so I thought I'd check on how you guys were doing."

There was something in Twilight's voice that made Sunset feel slightly suspicious of what was going on in her head. Not to say she didn't love the fact that Twilight was here.

"Well, its good to see you again. So, what were you girls talking about?"

"Oh we were just catching up on each other," replied Rarity. "Did you know she tutors the pony Sweetie Belle and her friends. I've been trying to find Sweetie Belle a good tutor for years! It just makes me wish we had our own Twilight."

Pinkie Pie had a face of deep thought on her face.

"Wait. If we have counterparts in the pony world, doesn't that mean there should be a Twilight in this world? And a Sunset Shimmer too? But wait, if there's two dimensions with two of everyone, does that mean that there should be more universes, and the multiverse theory is correct? Are there countless worlds upon worlds each with a different version of us? But if there are countless versions of us, what is the meaning of the life of one? What is the meaning of our lives?"

Everyone just looked at her.

Fluttershy was the first to speak. "Pinkie, you scare me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About the scene with discord, I wanted to put him in the human world while still being his normal self. I thought about how the Elements of Harmony and the Sirens could still use magic, and I came up with the theory that they have separate reserves of magic that come with them. So I applied this law to Discord, and we can just presume that ponies conduct magic from Equestria itself. Wait, if the ponies are just magic conductors, how could Tirek steal their magic? Dang it, the laws of a fan fiction never make sense.
> 
> Also, while some people know this, there are those who don't, but Taratarus is notan original creation of MLP. Tartarus was a part of the underworld in greek mythology, and is like an evil pit where monsters and evil divine beings were sentenced when they died. I just thought I'd spread this info out because I hate how many people think MLP invented it.


	8. Confusing Matters-Twilight Sparkle

"So... there isn't a problem?"

The two white hands flicked through a large number of papers within a folder. After selecting a few particular sheets, the folder was placed into a small drawer on the desk.

"Twilight Sparkle, you managed to prevent our school from being involved with dark magic users dominating our world. Twice. I don't care whether or not you are an actual Canterlot High student. You're welcome here anytime."

Although Principal Celestia's hair didn't have the same wavy properties as Princess Celestia's hair, it still had the colors and texture that made it look almost divine. Instead of the light brown overshirt and purple inner shirt that she had worn the previous times Twilight visited, she wore a black and white suit and tie, with a black inner shirt and a white overshirt and tie.

"Thank you." Said Twilight. "I'm sorry if I was a disruption."

The principal collected all her papers and placed them on the side of her desk. "I told you quite some time ago Twilight, my door is always open. Now if you excuse me, I have some matters to discuss with Vice Principal Luna."

Twilight opened the door for Celestia as she exited the office. After closing the door behind her, she walked down the hallway to rejoin Sunset Shimmer.

"So how'd it go?" Sunset asked.

"Well, saving the school and the world seems to of given me enough of her respect for her to allow me to join you in your school activities."

Sunset smiled. "That's great. Come on. I've got biology in about two minutes."

The two girls walked down the hallway in silence. This felt wrong to Twilight, who thought that friends should always have something to talk about. But when two friends happen to live in two separate dimensions, its pretty hard to think of a subject to talk about.

' _Books!_ ' She thought. ' _Of course! How could I be so dumb?_ '

"So, Sunset, have you read... "

Her words were cut off as she felt a sudden impact hit her from the front, sending her crashing to the floor.

"Whoa." Uttered a familiar voice. "I'm so sorry, I didn't... Twilight?"

She raised her head and found herself looking at a head of spiky blue hair and a pair of blue eyes looking down on her.

"Flash?"

Flash Sentry held out a light orange hand in a gesture of help, which Twilight accepted as she was lifted up to her feet. "Wow Twilight, I haven't seen you in like... months."

"Yeah... " Once again, Twilight found herself struggling for words, but to her luck, Sunset rushed to her side.

"Twi, are you okay."

"I'm fine," she responded, feeling happy to see that Sunset cared so much about her physical state. "I'm fine. I just bumped into Flash, that's all. Actually, I've gotten pretty used to it."

' _Holy crap._ ' She thought. ' _What is this, the... fifth time we've bumped into each other? How does that even happen? Maybe I should do some research on the science of collision probability._ '

"So, Twilight," said Flash. "Any reason why you're here? I mean, I can't exactly think of any time you came to Canterlot High and it didn't involve dark magic and some evil bitches trying to rule the world." He quickly turned to Sunset Shimmer. "No offence."

"None taken," replied Sunset, though she did not look amused.

"Oh no worries. No evil magical plots this time. At least...none that I know of."

"Well that's good to know... "

Suddenly, a girl with light blue skin and purple hair ran down the hallway and grabbed Flash by the hand, dragging him away.

"Flash baby, hurry up. We're gonna be late for chemistry!"

He raised his hand in a gesture of goodbye towards the other two girls. "Sorry. Gotta run. I'll catch up with you later!"

And with that, they both disappeared around the corner.

Sunset turned towards Twilight, with a sorry look on her face. "I'm sorry. I forgot to mention that Flash started going out with Mystery Mint a bit after the incident with the sirens. I probably should have told you that earlier... "

"No worries. I'm fine with it."

"Really?" Sunset looked pretty surprised. "I just figured... you seemed pretty into him and...I didn't really expect a very positive reaction to...that."

Her words hit Twilight with a sudden realization. She had just learned that Flash was in a relationship with another girl. She should have been feeling complete despair right now. Instead she felt... nothing.

"I guess I just... got over him."

"Okay." For some reason Sunset looked really happy to hear this. "Mint made a good point though. We should probably get going."

***

In Equestria, Twilight was at the mature age of twenty five. It had been years since she had any experience of school, so attending a class at Canterlot High was a very fascinating experience. She had already gone to a few classes when she first visited the school, but the experience was still fresh. What made it extra fascinating was the fact that she was attending Biology, and she got to learn some pretty interesting differences between the ponies of this world and the ponies of Equestria.

No wings, no horns and no Cutie marks. It was like a race of Appleblooms.

Afterwards, the class moved on to Physics, where the Human version of Cranky Doodle Donkey asked them if they could cause a chemical reaction with the various elements placed on their tables. Cranky didn't seem to put into account that two of his students were equestrian geniuses who had studied under Celestia herself. The resulting implosion left a grey scorch mark on Sunset's goggles, along with a new hairstyle that made her look like she was about to go out on Nightmare Night. Seeing her in a state that spoke of scientific disaster caused a strange surging feeling in Twilight's chest that she didn't recognize.

The sound of another, more violent implosion caused Twilight to turn her head and see that Pinkie Pie and Derpy Hooves had caused a similar accident, only their scorch marks were hot pink and there were a bunch of pink bubbles floating around everywhere. They were working with little more than Zinc, copper and carbon. How was that even possible?!

Science was followed by break, and Twilight's friends started to ask a lot of questions regarding Equestria and its culture.

"How are you supposed to pick things up without fingers?' Asked Fluttershy.

"Well, me and other unicorns tend to just levitate objects, but Equestrian ponies have a type of electrostatic charge in our hooves that allows objects of small sizes to stick to them."

"What's it like to use magic?" Rarity asked.

"Its...hard to explain. To actually use simple magic like telekinesis and teleportation just requires intense thought. I think about the destination I want to go and poof, Im there. Though it gets harder to accomplish depending on the distance. And trying to lift really big objects can put some serious strain on your mind if you aren't a trained unicorn. More advanced spells are a different thing, they have this...kind of code that you have to set your mind to. Its hard to explain to non unicorns."

"What's it like being in heat?" Asked Pinkie Pie.

The questions stopped after that.

The remainder of the school day wasn't particularly special. Twilight already knew her Math and English, and it wasn't too different in the human world. These lessons were followed by lunch, where they were participating in something called Taco Tuesday. Twilight was unfamiliar with what a taco was, and asked Applejack, who explained what was in them.

Twilight then learned what beef was, and immediately regretted asking that question.

The girls continued to ask questions regarding Equestria, while Twilight, Sunset, Rarity and Fluttershy dined on some salad. The others chose to consume Tacos, which made Twilight feel almost sick.

Lunch was followed by Geography, which was a lot more interesting than the two previous lessons. The human world was very different to Equestria, and this fascinated Twilight. She felt like asking if she could borrow some of the textbooks they had.

In particular, they were learning about a place called India, and did some work on its rainy seasons. The princess was amazed that there could be so much rainfall in a place where there were no Pegasi to control the weather.

' _Okay now I definitely need a book on this subject._ '

As Geography ended, so did school, and the seven girls all left the building at the same time, talking about their various experiences of the day.

"Y'know I really don't see why anyone would want to live in India." Said Rainbow Dash. "Hotter than some deserts, yet you still get rained on like hell. Where's the fun in that?"

"Are you kidding me Rainbow Dash?" Replied Fluttershy. "Have you seen the beautiful biosphere that climate has created? All those beautiful trees, flowers, and all sorts of other plants. Oh, and all the animals that come with it. Frogs, lizards, monkeys... "

"Cobras." Rarity interrupted, shuddering as she did.

"Oh yes, those too. Southern Asia just has such a wonderful variety of animals."

As they reached the edge of the school grounds, where several buses and cars were waiting, it looked like the group was about to disband.

"Sunset?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah," she responded.

"Is there any chance...like...if you don't have any plans...if I can possibly tag along?"

Sunset mouth shifted into an apologetic smile. "Sorry Twi, with the window of time I have tonight, I don't think I can fit doing my homework and spending time with you in my schedule."

Twilight expected an answer like that, but she still felt sad to hear it. "Okay. I understand."

"Can you still come tomorrow?"

"Of course." Answered Twilight, who was happy to think of that option.

When they said their goodbyes to the other girls, they walked over to the statue in the center of the school grounds.

"See ya, Twi." Said Sunset.

"You too." She responded.

They gave each other a quick hug, and after parting, Twilight turned around and walked into the portal that led to her home.

And walked into nothing but solid glass.

The resulting impact to her head sent her crashing onto the floor in a dazed state. She suffered a few seconds of blurry vision and ringing ears before her senses came to.

"Twilight!" Sunset called, rushing to her side. "Twilight are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She replied, trying to sit up. "Just...help me up please."

Twilight felt Sunset hoist her back onto her feet. Not for the first time, she realized it was harder to balance when you have only two legs instead of four.

"That doesn't make any sense." Said the princess. "I told Spike to keep the book in its place."

"Well maybe he had to move it for some reason."

"But why?" Asked Twilight, who had a sudden idea. "Do you still have your journal."

"Yeah, of course."

"Maybe I can get a message to Spike using the book's connection."

"Good idea."

Sunset placed her backpack on the ground and took her journal out of the back pocket. Twilight wrote a message to Spike asking for him to open the portal, and waited for a response.

An hour later, that response didn't come. Sunset decided to let her bus leave without her, saying that she could just walk home. Twilight was elated to see that her friend didn't intend on leaving her.

"Twilight." Said Sunset. "Have you ever considered the idea that the book is exactly where its supposed to be?"

Twilight was confused. "What do you mean?"

"What if there's something wrong with the portal itself?"

She let this idea sink in. What could possibly be wrong with the portal? Was it damaged somehow? If so, how did it get damaged?

Sunset's eyes widened suddenly. "Wait, this is unlikely, but did you bring Starswirl's book?"

"Yeah, I thought it would be good to bring it along."

"I think we need to give it a look through."

Twilight took the book out of her bag, and placed it before them. They looked through the pages for any sign of an explanation. After a while, she believed she found the answer.

"Wait, look there." She pointed at a specific part of the text. "Starswirl mentions that halfway through the portal's activation cycle, the arcane levels dropped suddenly, and he theorized that there was a counter reaction to the reaction that opens the portal. What if he was right?"

Sunset looked like she was catching on. "So if the main reaction allows the portal to break through the inter-dimensional barriers without assistance, than the counter reaction would prevent the portal from opening with assistance."

It dawned on Twilight what this meant.

"I don't think I'll be going home any time soon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was initially under the impression that a story appeared in the lists of it's categories when it's published and never moves again, meaning I figured I would just upload all the chapters I had as quickly as possible. I've now discovered it moves back up to the top with each new update, so I think I'll just upload them around once a week to keep the story nicely advertised.
> 
> Once again, this story shows it's age through the 'Race of Appleblooms' joke, as the CMC wouldn't get their cutie marks for around a year after this chapter was originally published.


	9. Some Chaotic Advice-Sunset Shimmer

Seven days. One week.

That's how long the portal was normally open, and that's how long Twilight would be locked out of Equestria.

Their theory had been more or less confirmed when they checked the date. It had definitely been a year and three months since the portal was last open by itself. In the terms of lunar cycles, fifteen moons.

Twilight had made a little bed for herself in the school library, comprised of a bunch of books and a sheet. It didn't look very comfortable to Sunset, but her friend insisted that it was fine, and that it wasn't the first time she'd slept in those conditions.

It had been two nights since the portal closed, meaning Twilight was stuck in the human world for another five or six days, and Sunset was starting her day with her usual morning bowl of cereal. The problem was, she wasn't feeling that hungry.

Since Monday, her mind had been occupied with thoughts. To be precise, thoughts about Twilight. When she was spending time with Twilight and the girls, she found herself distracted by her. Sunset even found herself losing focus on her own conversations because she was too busy paying attention to what Twilight was doing. Even when she wasn't with the princess, it was still the thing she thought about most of the time.

The way she commanded a social circle like a benevolent politician. The way her pink and violet highlights just made her blue hair look like a beautiful piece of art. The way her face shifted into that adorable expression when she was trying to teach you something.

What did it all mean?

Sunset continued to stare into her cereal, trying to comprehend what was going on with her mind. But her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a male voice.

"Dude, you gonna finish that?"

She turned her head to find herself face to face with Lens Flare, a thirteen year old boy who was also known as the biggest nerd at Miss Peachbottom's.

"I don't think so..." Sunset replied, seeing a hungry look in his eye. "Why not."

She gently pushed the bowl towards him before Lens Flare grabbed it and started digging through the cereal with his spoon. Normally sharing food with other people was considered weird, but the orphans had pretty much accepted each other as family, and they shared their food with one another like it was nothing.

"Whoa," She said, noticing how fast he was eating the cereal. "Slow down. What's gotten you so excited?"

He quickly spun around and gave her a fierce look in the eye. "Are you kidding me? I spent the last two years of my life shipping Korra and Asami from [i]The Legend Of Korra[/i], even though deep inside I knew that it would never happen in canon. But this very morning, Mike and Bryan themselves confirmed that the final scene where Korra and Asami hold hands was in fact intended to be romantic and not platonic, making them the first bisexual main characters in western children's cartoons! This is not just a victory for me and other Korrasami shippers, but the entire LGBT community! Korrasami is canon!"

There were a few seconds of awkward silence between them. "Yeah...I don't watch Avatar, so...only half of that made any sense to me."

He gave her a disdainful look before uttering "Hab Sosli' quch!" and running off.

"And I don't speak Klingon either!" She shouted at him.

When her spoon and bowl were done being washed, she checked the clock to see that it was fifteen minutes until the bus arrived.

As she walked upstairs and went down the hallway towards her dormitory, her head was still plagued by thoughts of Twilight and her attempts to understand why she was thinking like this.

' _Maybe..._ ' She quickly dismissed the thought, not for the first time. ' _Stop it Sunset. That can't be the answer._ '

Could it though?

She suddenly realised that she had passed her door.

' _I really need to stop thinking about this stuff._ ' She thought. ' _Its starting to mess with my head._ '

She opened the door and made her way to her bedroom, where her bag was waiting for her. It was already filled with everything she needed, so she didn't need to pack anything. She picked the bag up and slid her arms through each strap, ready for another school day.

"So how are you doing, Miss Shimmer?"

The sudden voice made her jump and screech a little. She turned around to see Discord sitting on one of the beds, in his normal Draconequus form.

"Discord!?"

He was picking his teeth with a small wooden toothpick. "The one and only. Especially since I haven't been able to find that human me yet."

"What the hell are you doing in my room?!"

Discord lowered the toothpick and raised an eyebrow. "There's that hell word again. Honestly Sunset, if you want to speak to me you had better use proper language."

Sunset was getting impatient. "Skip the games, Discord. I don't have time for this. Why are you here?"

"Sheesh, someone's grumpy today." He flicked away his toothpick, and as it hit the ground it grew two wings and six thin legs before flying out the window. "I saw that you were having some trouble with yourself, and as a good friend, I thought I could help."

"What do you..."

She was cut off when Discord snapped his fingers, and the entire room was engulfed in a white light. When the light faded, Sunset found herself sitting on a soft cushiony chair, while Discord sat on an identical one. Another difference was that Discord was now wearing a grey overshirt, a white undershirt, a black and white striped tie, and a pair of glasses. In his hands he held a clipboard and pencil.

"Now Miss Shimmer, how are you feeling right now?"

Sunset was kind of confused but decided to get on with it. "Fine." She felt a slight rumble in her stomach. "Kinda hungry."

' _Maybe I should have finished that cereal._ '

Discord started to scribble on his clipboard. "Fine. Hungry. Interesting."

"Why are we doing this?" She asked.

"Sunset, don't try to hide it from me, you seem to be going through some emotional obstacles right now."

' _Is he talking about Twilight!_ ' She thought. ' _I can't be thinking about her that much. Can I?_ '

Whether that was the case or not, she wasn't going to admit something like that to Discord.

"No, I don't think I am." She replied.

He put down his clipboard and pencil, and placed his elbows on the armchair while interlocking his fingers. "Sunset, from one ex-villain to another, I want you to be honest with me. What’s been troubling you recently?"

Sunset sighed a little. ' _I guess I might as well._ '

"Recently..." She struggled to find the right words. "I've been doing a lot of thinking."

Discord picked up his clipboard and pencil, and continued to scribble. "I see. Now, have you been thinking about anything or, dare I say it, anyone in particular?"

She sighed again. "I've been thinking a lot about...Twilight."

Discord nodded his head. "Okay, I think I understand. So, are you team Jacob or team Edward?"

"Not the books you idiot, the princess!"

Discord responded with a slight smile that made her wonder if he genuinely made that mistake. He shook his head and put on a more serious expression.

"So, are there any details you care to share on what you think about that involves Twilight?"

' _Are you kidding me, I'm not gonna talk about thing that personal with you of all people!_ '

So why was she about to do it anyway?

"I'm finding it hard to stop thinking about her. When she's with me, she's the one thing in the world I really seem to acknowledge. And even when she isn't with me, I still keep thinking about her. Her looks, her personality, her scent. For the past few weeks I've spent my days anticipating the weekend so that I could see her again. And when the moment comes that I have to leave, I feel something inside me suddenly become this...void. I want to feel sorry for the fact that she can't go home for a week, but at the same time...I can’t stop feeling so happy about the fact that she's stuck in this world with me."

There was a moment of silence between her and the Draconequus.

 _'Sweet Celestia did I really say all that to him?_ '

"I see," said Discord, who for once looked like he was taking something seriously. "Is there any reason why you think like this?"

Sunset thought about it, and a thought came up in her mind. It was a thought that had appeared some time ago, and had been growing ever since. Before, she would dismiss it. But now, it felt more real than ever.

"Because..." she tried to get her words out. "Because I'm in love with her."

Discord said nothing, and neither did Sunset. The world around them was replaced by complete silence, as they let the words sink in.

' _I can't believe I just said that!_ ' thought Sunset. ' _Twilight's my best friend! I can't just start telling people that I'm in love with her! I don't even know if I really feel that way._ '

She wanted to believe she saw Twilight as a friend. She wanted to believe they could have a normal relationship.

' _But then...why did I mean every word I just said?_ '

Discord took his glasses off, looked deep into Sunset's eyes, and smiled. "Called it."

"What?"

"I'm just saying, I saw this coming a mile off. I mean, I told Twilight that I could see an interesting relationship coming from her friendship with you, and look where we are now."

In a white flash he was wearing a black and white suit and tie with a black top hat and shiny black shoes. He also had some kind of walking stick that he held in both hands as he did his tap dance of victory.

"Well good for you," Sunset said, trying to look unhappy even though that was a very amusing site. "Now could you please stop goofing off and help me fix this."

In another white flash Discord was wearing nothing again, while the chairs had disappeared. "In what sense?"

"I mean, could you...I don't know...make me stop loving her."

Discord raised an eyebrow. "Sunset, I may be an all powerful spirit of chaos but I'm not exactly a god. I can't just make your feelings disappear. At least, not without turning you into some bitchy grey minion of mine. And we both know that's not what you really want, your ideal resolution to this is that Twilight loves you back. Am I not right?"

Sunset wanted to argue, but the thing was that he was in fact absolutely right. "I guess."

"Sunset, just take my advice. Tell her how you feel."

"Really?"

"Heck no! That's really stupid advice. What if she doesn't love you back? What if your relationship with her is ruined forever? Its much better to be friends with someone that tortures you with your repressed feelings for them than not being friends with them at all. Trust me I know."

"Gee, thanks for the help!"

"Fine." Discord rolled his eyes. "If you insist on wooing her, just wait. See if you spot any signs of her harboring similar feelings towards you, and if the signs are clear, act on your feelings. Heck, maybe you should try waiting for her to make the first move. If there are no signs that she's into you, then you can give up and have your friendship with her that tortures you with your repressed feelings. That's all I got."

"You are really unhelpful."

Discord chuckled a bit. "You sound just like your mo..." He stopped for a second. "Oh wait, your bus is leaving in about forty seconds. Bye."

In a final white flash, he was gone.

"Jackass." Sunset whispered to herself.

She heard the door open behind her, and turned around to see Sweetcream Scoops standing in the doorway.

"Sunset, the bus driver's waiting for you, hurry up."

"Sorry, I'm coming!"

***

As always, Vice-Principal Luna's office was dark. A bit too dark. Even if she was an inter-dimensional counterpart to the princess of the night, it still struck Sunset as odd that someone would want to keep their office in a state that made it feel almost like night time.

"So you two wish to get this job done, even if it means staying after school?" Luna asked them.

Sunset saw Twilight nodding her head, and proceeded to do the same. "Yes." She responded.

"Well then, I must say I am impressed." The Vice-Principal started writing something down, though it was too dark to see. In fact, how could Luna even see what she was writing? "You're one of the only four students that volunteered to do so. But with the money we save by not hiring professionals, we won't have to indefinitely cancel Taco Tuesday."

Twilight flinched a little bit. "Honestly, I don't care much for Taco Tuesday, but I'm glad to help."

"Thank you." Luna smiled slightly. "You two are dismissed."

As Sunset was slowly following Twilight out of the office, she thought about her talk with Princess Luna a few days ago. That encounter had given her a lot more respect for the princess, and she felt a bit more respect towards her Vice-Principal as well. She wondered if this Luna had been through similar turmoils. A thought suddenly struck her.

"Vice-Principal Luna?" She asked, turning around.

"Yes?"

"Does the name Nightmare Moon sound familiar to you?"

Even through the darkness, Sunset could see Luna's face turn to shock, before she slammed her hands on her desk and leaned forward from her chair.

"Who told you about my World Of Warcraft account?!"

***

The school day was a lot like any other. But there was one big difference. It wasn't just that Twilight was a part of it all now, but that Sunset had accepted the feelings inside her. She knew why she was thinking about Twilight so much, she knew why she was trying to spend so much time with her. And because of this, her thoughts and feelings were coursing through her so much more smoothly.

But by accepting the fact that she was in love with her, she found herself slightly tormented by those feelings, as Discord said she would. He was also right when he said that the resolution she wanted was one where she and Twilight could be together as a couple. Every time Twilight smiled or laughed or did anything remotely positive, Sunset got that surging feeling in her chest and just wanted to pour her feelings out to the princess. But Discord was also right when he said that Sunset shouldn't be so straightforward. If Twilight didn't feel the same, then they could never have the same friendship again.

At the end of the school day, Sunset and Twilight headed to the school auditorium for the job that they volunteered to do earlier that day.

Sunset's home was only an hour walk from the school, so she had no problem staying after the final class had ended, and Twilight was actually staying at the school, so she didn't have a problem either.

The job itself was just repainting the auditorium and since Vice-Principal Luna said that they'd be joined by two other volunteers, it would likely take no longer than two to three hours.

When they entered the auditorium, it looked like they were the first to arrive, as there was no one else there. They had been given clear instructions on what to do if they had to start. The painting supplies were in storage room number two, which was located at a left turn from the entrance.

Upon opening the door to storage room number two, they found everything they needed. Buckets of paint, painting aprons, and ladders. But among this, they found a much more unexpected site.

On the floor was a white skinned girl with a head of spiky light blue and cyan hair, with a pair of blue headphones around her head. She wore a white jacket, a white skirt, and pink fingerless gloves, while her legs were covered by purple leggings with blue shoes. Even more interesting was that on top of her was a light grey skinned girl with hair that was such a dark shade of grey it was almost black. She was dressed much more fancily than the other girl, wearing a purple overshirt over a short sleeved white blouse, a pink skirt, long white socks within black shoes, and a pink bow tie around her neck.

They were both on the floor ferociously pressing their faces together while the gloved white hands went up and down the other girl's back.

Sunset couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Vinyl?"

The bottom girls eyes opened to reveal hot pink irises. A split second later they grew wide with shock.

"Oh crap, Octy get up!"

The grey girl fell off of Vinyl and stumbled on to her feet while Vinyl herself scrambled to get up. She slipped on a pair of hot pink shades that immediately fell onto her nose.

"Octavia?" Sunset said in a confused voice.

"Uhhhhh..." Octavia looked like she was struggling for words.

"We were early!" Vinyl interrupted, trying to maintain a cool posture. "And...we tried to get started..."

"Vinyl," Octavia said in her English accent.

"...aaaaaaand...this bucket fell from the drawers...and hit me on the head, knocking me unconscious..."

"Vinyl, this is futile."

"...and Octavia...she...was giving me mouth to mouth..."

"Vinyl Scratch!" Octavia shouted, getting Vinyl's full attention. "They aren't buying it. I think the way you grabbed my ass was a bit of a dead giveaway."

Vinyl blushed heavily and stuck out her arm, leaning against the wall in an attempt to look cool. "So...Twilight, Sunset. You wouldn't mind...y'know...not mentioning this to anyone, right?"

Twilight looked like she was still getting her head around what she just saw. "No...of course not."

"Please," Octavia said, with a slightly desperate look in her eyes. "If anyone found out about...this, our social lives could get more or less destroyed."

"Hey," Sunset answered. "We've got nothing to gain from telling anyone about this. Your secret is safe with us."

"It better be," Growled Vinyl, still blushing.

Twilight walked over the painting supplies. "Why don't we just forget about this and get to work."

"Good idea!" Said Octavia, trying to put on a smile.

The next hour and a half was filled with them repainting the faded beige walls of the auditorium into a more appealing yellow. There was little to no talking, thanks to awkward atmosphere created by them walking in on that little make out session.

"Sunset," Twilight said. "Do you mind if I take a quick trip to the bathroom?"

"Of course you can, no need to ask me."

As Twilight left the room, Sunset went back to thinking.

Was the universe trying to play some cruel joke on her. She accepts the fact that she's in love with Twilight, has problems dealing with those feelings, and BAM, she comes across two girls making out. It was like some divine force was teasing her with what might be.

Then again, what if it was some sort of sign? What if it meant that she was supposed to act on her feelings? Then it hit Sunset. She was alone in a room with two girls that seemed to be in some kind of romantic relationship. These were the perfect people to get advice from.

She walked over to Vinyl Scratch and started painting the walls alongside her. Octavia was on a ladder at the other end of the wall, painting a higher section.

"Hey Vinyl," Sunset said, before noticing that the DJ's ears were blocked by headphones. Sunset waved her hand in front of Vinyl's face to get her attention.

Vinyl removed her headphones. "What?"

"I'm sorry about what happened earlier. We didn't mean to intrude or anything."

"No problem Shimmer, just keep quiet about it. That's all I'm asking. To be fair, it probably wasn't the best idea to make out in the storage room with the paint supplies when we knew we were gonna have company that had the intention of painting."

"So...when did...this..." She pointed towards Vinyl and then towards Octavia. "...start?"

Vinyl raised an eyebrow. "Do you really expect me to tell you the story of how Octy and I got together. Um, no thanks."

' _Well if I'm gonna get her help I might as well be honest._ '

"Look Vinyl, I know I'm not someone you'd expect to trust, but I need advice. I think I've...fallen for someone."

Vinyl glared at her. "And...you need my help because?"

"Because It’s a girl."

The DJ said nothing, and continued to glare.

"Please Vinyl. I don't know what I'm supposed to do and after seeing you and Octavia, I realized you might be the only people I can get good advice from."

"You're...serious..."

"Yes. I am."

"Wow. Well, I guess I might as well. Not much else to do besides continue painting, and I've already done a bunch of that. To start off, since the beginning of last year, I was permitted to work on my mixes for a few hours after school on Wednesdays. It was originally scheduled as a club, but since you don't find many DJ's at CHS, it became a more personal thing for me. The equipment I worked with was set up in the main music classroom, which, as you know belongs to Mr Melody, Octavia's dad. He tends to work for hours after school in his office, so Octy was stuck practicing her Cello in the music classroom with me.

"At first we weren't exactly fond of each other, I saw her as a stuck up posh brat and she saw me as 'an uneducated talentless ruffian' as she put it. But, as we spent more time together and learned more about each other and our music, I saw a bit more than some snooty classical musician, I saw a friend. And after a while, I saw a bit more than a friend. I started to look forward to Wednesdays more than anything, and she was invading my thoughts like a beat in a song. So, I tried to express my feelings by remixing some romantic songs I knew she liked, heck I more or less made my own. During one after school session, I played them for her, and she really liked it. Before I knew it we were dancing...pretty soon we were...kissing...and then...she was mine."

Sunset had been listening to every word of Vinyl's story in silence, and when the DJ was finished, the silence was shared between them for a moment.

"Crap, that sounded cheesy as hell," Vinyl said, grimacing.

"No, no, no," Sunset stuttered. "That was really sweet."

"Now I think you see why we don't want you spreading the word of what's going on between us. If you know Mr Melody well, you'll know that he can be a pretty overly posh and snooty guy. And he's definitely not one of the most liberal guys in the world. I love Octy, but I don't think her family, or pretty much all of CHS will accept something like that."

"I understand," Sunset replied. "So, your advice is for me to just spend a lot of time together with my crush?"

If that was all Sunset needed, then she was already on the right track by visiting Twilight every weekend.

"Well, that's how I fell in love with Octavia. But to be honest, I think she fell in love with me thanks to this..."

She reached into the bag on her back and pulled out a CD case. It was a simple white plastic case labeled, '[b]For Octy[/b]'.

"It might have been Octavia's love for music that made it so effective, but I think it could work for any girl."

She held out the CD for Sunset to take.

"Really? You want me to take it?" Sunset asked.

"Not permanently, of course, I'm not that generous. Well...unless there was twenty bucks involved. But what kind of DJ would I be if I didn't let lend out my music? Anyway, that's what we bi's do. We help each other out," Vinyl replied, before frowning a bit. "At least, I think that's a saying."

"Thank you," Said Sunset, who put the CD in her bag.

Just a few seconds afterwards, Twilight came back into the auditorium. As she did, Sunset was struck by an idea. She may have already been spending plenty of time with Twilight, but she remembered an opportunity to spend even more personal time with her.

As Twilight went back to painting the walls, she was approached by Sunset.

"Hey, Twilight."

"Hey."

"Umm... I was wondering. A smaller orphanage a few miles away is set to close down, and Miss Peachbottom offered to take the orphans in, so...we'll basically be getting a 'fresh batch' of orphans. Miss Peachbottom needs some of the more run down rooms in the building rejuvenated, and I offered to take the job. I was wondering if...like...you'd care to join me. Y'know, I could...show you my home...introduce you to my roommates...stuff like that. And it would be nice to just spend time with you. As friends. And stuff..."

' _Man I am doing this awkwardly..._ '

But despite that, Twilight smiled. "Of course! That sounds like fun. When is this?"

"There's not so much a specific time as there is a deadline of a week. We could do it tomorrow."

Twilight nodded. "I'll be there."

While Twilight went back to painting the walls, Sunset looked at the couple that was painting at the other side of the room, and then looked at the pocket on her bag where she had put Vinyl's CD.

Things might just go her way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, that Korrasami mention in the chapter may seem kind of random, but I wrote this chapter straight after the ending of Legend of Korra and I was extremely excited about it at the time.
> 
> I originally intended to just make a one off joke with Vinyl and Octavia making out, but I decided to extend their roles to help the plot a bit more and even put a little shipfic within a shipfic.


	10. Sunset's Home-Twilight Sparkle

Twilight stretched her eyelids open, allowing the morning light shining through the window to hit her right in the eye, causing her to shut them back again in pain. As her mind recovered from sleep, she acknowledged the aches that she was feeling all over her body. Even after she applied cushions to her makeshift bed, a bed made from books, was bound to be uncomfortable.

She sat herself up and stretched her arms, relieving some of the stress on her body. Upon standing up, she slipped on her light blue blouse, pink tie, and boots before walking down the stairs to the ground floor of the CHS library. She looked at the library's clock to see that there were thirteen minutes until lessons started.

' _Moon banishment! I slept in!_ ' She thought. ' _I need to get ready!_ '

Twilight ran back up the stairs to where she had set up her bed and put all her things. Not being an actual CHS student, she didn't have a schedule, and had no idea what lessons she had. This was irrelevant for preparation of course, since Twilight loved to carry all her books around with her anyway.

The library doors burst open as she ran through them, headed for the bathroom. There she emptied her bladder and brushed her teeth (Yes, she had been that prepared for a simple visit to Canterlot High), before running back outside and down a hallway filled with students getting things in and out from their lockers.

Again, she didn't have a schedule, so she had to ask one of her friends what the next lesson was. They always gathered in the small music room, so she probably didn't have to go far.

She quickly glanced at a clock she was passing. Six minutes to first period.

' _Its too late! I'm doomed! DOOMED!_ '

She shook her head.

"Calm down, Twilight," she whispered to herself. "You don't even really go to this school. Who cares if you're a bit tardy?"

' _Sunset will care! She'll think I don't take learning seriously! She'll hate that! She'll hate me!_ '

All of a sudden, Twilight skidded to a halt.

Of all the things to think about in this situation, why think about that?

' _It doesn't matter, I have to prioritise getting to class._ '

She was about to bolt down the hallway again before she realized that the door to her left was the room she was looking for.

Her hands slammed the door open to reveal Sunset, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie getting their bags ready.

"WHAT LESSON DO WE HAVE NOW?!"

They all stared at her with disturbed expressions, making her realize how weird she was acting.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I... slept in and... didn't wanna be late..."

Pinkie shook her head. "Overeactivisis, horrible thing. I contracted it myself when I came across a blueberry bake sale in southern Mozambique."

"Rarity an' I got Chemistry in four minutes," Explained Applejack. "Sunset an' the others all got Biology."

"Good," Twilight replied. "I guess I'll go with them."

"Yes!" They heard a loud whisper say.

Everyone turned their head to see that Sunset Shimmer had a fist triumphantly raised in the air. She puckered her mouth inwards awkwardly when she noticed them all staring at her.

"Um... I mean... that's great..." She put on a clearly forced grin. "Twi's only gonna be here another four days... It’s good to... spend more time... with her... and... stuff like that..."

Not for the first time, Twilight noticed that Sunset was behaving oddly. "Sunset, are you okay?"

Sunset's eyes widened, as if some big secret had been revealed. "Sure! Why wouldn't I be okay? I'm just... hey look it's two minutes until Biology starts! Gotta go!"

She seemed to instantly burst into a run as she quickly went out the door.

Rarity gave everyone a puzzled look. "What do you suppose is wrong with her?"

"Maybe something bad happened to her recently," Fluttershy responded.

"Maybe she has something real important on her mind," Said Applejack.

"Maybe she harbors secret romantic feelings for one of the women standing in this very room," Pinkie said.

The next round of awkward stares were directed right at her.

"Uuum... I don't exactly think Sunset's the kind to be interested in...females, Pinkie. I mean, she was in a relationship with Flash once," explained Rarity.

"Well, you forget to mention that she claims to have had no real feelings for him," Pinkie responded. "And there's a little something called a bisexual you know."

"There's still no evidence to support this theory of yours."

"First of all, it’s more of a hypothesis than a theory, secondly, maybe she's going through some weird sexuality questioning college phase."

"She's not even in college!"

"Well, to be fair her chronological age is like twenty six."

"Girls!" Applejack shouted, getting effectively catching their attention. "You can continue debating on the sexuality of a magical pony from another universe, or we can all hurry up and get to class, which may I remind you is starting in a few seconds!"

The door burst open as they all ran out into the hallway.

***

Of all the classes she had attended at Canterlot High, Twilight found that Biology and Geography were by far the most enjoyable, mainly because of how different they were in a different universe. Through the few lessons she went through, along with the few books she had borrowed, she had learnt a lot about the world and the organisms that lived there.

For Geography, she was mainly interested on how nature worked in a world without magic, while for Biology, she was more interested in the creatures that did and didn't exist in each world, along with the differences between the creatures that the worlds did share.

That particular Biology lesson they learned about carnivorous plants, Heliamphora chimantensis to be exact. At first, Twilight was confused at how a plant could be carnivorous in a world where there was no such thing as magic or living plants. But this made her all the more interested in how they ate, which was by using special scents to lure small organisms such as bugs into their pouches, dissolving them with acid, and absorbing the raw nutrients from the remains. Sometimes, the most fascinating things about nature were also the most disturbing.

The remaining lessons were just standard subjects, like Maths and English. And thanks to Twilight's studies under the wisest being in Equestria, she went through them like a raging academic bull of schoolwork destruction.

Because she went through the work so fast and easily, she had a lot more time to think about what was going on with Sunset. The incident earlier that morning wasn't the first time that she had acted so awkwardly. Twilight noticed that Sunset had started behaving strangely since yesterday morning. When Twilight had tried to talk to her she started stuttering and almost sweating slightly, saying that she didn't have time to talk. Twilight didn't see her again until break, and even then she wasn't acting like her normal self, staying unusually quiet, and whenever someone started to talk to her, she gave them this worried look like they were trying to get her to spill the beans on something.

The Sunset Shimmer that Twilight knew was a relaxed and confident person, and Sunset wasn't acting like that at all. Something had to be wrong. Fortunately, Sunset had invited Twilight to spend some time at her home this afternoon, so there was plenty of opportunity to find out what.

It was strange to think about how many times Sunset had visited Twilight's castle, yet Twilight had never been to Miss Peachbottom's orphanage before. Not once. Then again, between a magical crystal castle in a land of magic and wonder, and a building struggling to support several children of various ages who all lost their parents in likely tragic ways, the former was probably the better option when it came to social interaction.

After the last lesson had ended, Twilight went out into the school grounds where she found Sunset waiting for her. As soon as the latter spotted her, she turned around as if she was deliberately trying not to look at Twilight.

"Hey, Sunset," Twilight said upon reaching her. "How was your day?"

She continued to stare off in another direction. "Yeah... it was fine."

"So... when's the bus arriving?"

"It usually arrives about four minutes from now," Sunset replied, her voice showing as little emotion as possible.

The attitude that Sunset was giving her made Twilight feel uneasy. The awkward demeanor she had adopted recently had been strange enough, but now it looked like she didn't even want to acknowledge Twilight's existence. Something was definitely wrong.

A bit earlier than Sunset predicted, a large yellow bus pulled over in front of them. The two girls sat themselves next to each other near the back of the bus, while the rest of the seats were filled by dozens of other kids, most of them Sunset's fellow orphans.

Throughout the journey, Sunset continued to remain silent and stare in any other direction except Twilight's. After about five minutes, Twilight built up the courage to confront her.

"Sunset... is something wrong?"

Sunset turned around and looked at her with wide and concerned looking eyes. "What’s wrong? Nothings wrong. I'm fine. Why you ask?"

She said those words at a fast rate that fed Twilight's suspicions.

"Well... you haven't really been acting... normally lately."

"I said I'm fine!"

The tone in which Sunset spoke wasn't loud, but there was something harsh in it that shocked Twilight into going silent.

' _Is it me?_ ' She thought to herself. ' _Did I do something that's making her act this way? But... I don't remember doing anything wrong!_ '

It dawned on Twilight that Sunset might actually be angry at her.

' _Was it school? Did I not go to enough of her lessons? Did I not talk to her enough? What did I do?! What if she thinks I'm being too clingy? First I give her that sudden embrace last week, then without even asking I just come into her world for a visit. I am being too clingy! How could I let this happen to our friendship...'_

"Are you okay, Twi?"

Twilight turned her head to see Sunset looking at her with a concerned expression. She suddenly realized that both of her own eyes were shedding slight tears.

"I'm fine... just..."

"Look Twilight, I'm sorry if I've been acting strangely recently. I've...had a lot on my mind. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything like that."

Twilight took a slow deep breath, relaxing herself as she was assured that her friendship was strong and intact.

"I understand, Sunset but there's clearly something wrong. And I can't help you if you don't tell me."

Sunset looked down and closed her eyes like she was trying make a decision. She lifted her head and looked back at Twilight.

"Yesterday, I had a talk with..."

She was interrupted by the sound of the bus doors opening and a bunch of children getting out.

"Come on, this is where we get off," Sunset said as she stood up.

While they were making their way from the bus stop to the orphanage, Twilight started thinking about what happened on the bus.

' _How did I not notice that I was crying? Heck, why was I even crying in the first place? I mean...sure, the idea of losing a friendship is sad. But there wasn't even any real evidence that she was upset with me. I get her attitude making me feel upset, but crying? Crying?!_ '

Twilight was no stranger to acting over the top in certain situations, but this was something else.

Before she could continue, she heard Sunset say "And here we are."

The building in front of them was a brown four-story brick construction, with four windows on each floor. On the ground floor was a double beige wooden door, and above it was a blue sign with the words Peachbottom Canterlot City Orphanage painted in bold yellow letters.

"Looks pretty cozy," Twilight commented.

"More or less. It’s certainly the coziest home I've ever lived in."

"Really?" Twilight asked with a playful smile. "I can't imagine any place beating Canterlot castle."

"Not even your library?"

"Point taken."

It was good to see that Sunset was acting a lot more cheerful than how she had been acting just a few minutes earlier.

The interior of the building definitely had a much friendlier look to it. The walls were painted light green, and the floor was covered with a simple cherry red carpet. There were about two doors and two hallways attached to the main reception, and connected to the wall opposite to the front door was a wooden counter, and inside was a very familiar looking woman.

"Hey there, Sunset," said Miss Peachbottom. "I see ya brought your friend along."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Peachbottom," Twilight replied, holding her hand out.

'Again, to be exact.' She said in her head.

"Same here," Peachbottom responded while shaking her hand. "Sunset's said a lot about you. Some things...more believable than others. Although, after see'n her tremendous change in personality, I'll believe anythin' by now."

Twilight chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose that is."

"So, Miss P," Said Sunset. "Do we get started now?"

"Don' sweat it, Sunny! Yer friend is visitin' for the first time. Give her some time to get a good look at the place. I always appreciate a good first impression."

"That sounds like a good idea," Twilight responded. "I'd love to meet some of the other kids."

Sunset shrugged. "Sure, why not."

Twilight followed Sunset up a flight of stairs and down a hallway. On the way they passed a couple of dormitories, where Twilight got a glimpse of a few of the orphans, some of them looking like they were on the verge of graduation, and others looking no older than ten. They stopped at one door which revealed a dormitory with six beds and three other girls in it.

"This, Twilight, is my room," Sunset said.

The three girls looked over in their direction and waved.

"Hey, Sunset," Said a girl with dark blue skin and white hair.

"Hey, girls," Sunset waved back. "Twilight, these are my roommates, Salty Haze..."

She pointed at the dark blue girl.

"...Sweetcream Scoops..."

She pointed at a lime green skinned girl with orange and pink hair in a style very similar to Twilight's.

"...and Cactus."

She pointed at a pale green skinned girl with green and brown hair in a spiky style.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance," Said Salty Haze, shaking Twilight's hand. "Its not every day you get to meet a magical pony princess from another dimension."

"No," Twilight replied. "I suppose it isn't."

The other three girls started laughing, and pretty soon they both began to giggle as well. It was a good introduction.

The next few minutes was filled with a bunch of talking and getting to know each other. It was surprising that they asked almost no questions regarding Equestria, but then again, they were Sunset Shimmer's roommates, so they had probably asked their fair share of those kind of questions already.

Eventually, Sunset pointed out that they should probably get to doing the job now, and Twilight said goodbye to the three girls before walking out the door.

"They seemed like good people," Twilight said happily.

"Yeah, pretty much." Sunset replied with a smile. "I guess that's one reason why I consider this place above Canterlot castle. Its the one place where I really had a family."

"I see." Twilight looked to her right, seeing more orphans through the open doors as they walked down the hallway.

It then popped into her head how many orphans she had seen in this place. It had to have at least been twenty.

"Wow. This place really has a lot of parentless children for just one city."

Sunset's smile faded. "Yeah...well, sometimes life isn't exactly nice to you. Just about everyone here has a sad story to tell. Sweetcream Scoops' mother was an ice cream woman who passed away from lung cancer when Scoops was only six. Salty was even younger when she lost her parents. Her dad was an Air Force pilot who got shot down in some hostile African territory, and her mother couldn't cope and died of a drug overdose. Cactus doesn't suffer remembering the loss of her parents, because she was found abandoned in an alleyway as a baby."

Twilight was shocked to hear all this. She was no stranger to hearing about tragic things happening to people back in Equestria, but not to that extent. The idea that a child could experience watching their parents die, or that someone would just leave a baby out on the streets to fend for themselves…

"That sounds awful."

"Yeah well, no orphanage comes without sad stories, and that's just my roommates. There's a lot more kids here with even worse experiences to talk about."

"Like you?"

Sunset stared at the ground in silence for a few seconds. "Like me."

***

The room showed clear signs of several years of neglect. Whatever wallpaper that had once covered the walls had peeled off, now in crusty tatters on the floor. The wooden floorboards had traces of splinters and mold over them, and creaked as the two girls walked across the room. The part of the room that was in the best condition was the window, and that was completely covered in a layer of dust.

"Wow..." Twilight gasped. "This...looks like its gonna take a while."

"I don't know..." Said Sunset, analysing the room. "The carpet should take care of the entire floor, and the window will just need a good quick clean. The hard part is the walls, though that shouldn't take more than three hours."

"Well, lets get started then."

Sunset was right. Apparently, the area of the floor had already been measured, and the carpet they were using had been cut to that size, so they just needed to roll it from one side of the room to the other and it fit instantly.

"Are you sure the carpet is secure?" Twilight asked. "Shouldn't it be like...glued to the floor or something?"

Sunset giggled upon hearing this.

"Hey!" Twilight protested playfully. "I'm a princess. I didn't exactly study construction."

"Whatever, your highness," Sunset replied, still chuckling. "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure the size alone should keep it fit on the floor."

"If you insist."

For the next few seconds they just smiled at each other in silence.

"Look, Twilight..." Sunset said, putting on a more serious face. "I'm still sorry if I haven't really been acting normally recently. And I'm sorry if my attitude upset you earlier. I've just...had some problems recently. Not like...actual problems, more...emotional problems..."

"Involving your past?" Twilight asked.

"Not...exactly..."

"You mentioned that you had a talk with someone."

"Yeah...um...yesterday morning...I had a talk with...Discord."

Twilight's eyes widened. "Discord? But he's in Equestria."

"He said he followed you through the portal when you came here."

"Okay...putting that...confusing matter aside, what did you talk about?"

Sunset looked down at the floor, looking like she was uncomfortable with the subject, which made Twilight feel really concerned.. What had Discord said to Sunset?

"Twilight...you are...probably the most incredible person I know. In just a few days you changed me from some evil selfish witch into a better person. You've accomplished so much more in your lifetime than I ever did, and inspired me to accept love and friendship in my life..."

There was a slight thumping feeling building up in Twilight's chest.

"...For months now, seeing you in Equestria has been the highlight of my life. I find myself thinking about you when you're not with me, and more than ever when you are..."

Twilight could almost hear the fierce thumping in her chest.

"...and...I just..."

She was cut off when Miss Peachbottom appeared from behind the door.

"Hey girls! Wow, lovin' the job ya done with the floor!"

"Thanks," Sunset responded, looking happy to see a distraction.

Peachbottom revealed a large grey object with some buttons and a pair of speakers that she was holding in her hand. "I thought ya might want some auditory entertainment, so I brought ma stereo up here."

"Thanks," Sunset repeated.

"There's already a CD in it, but y'all can put whatever you like in. Enjoy yerselves."

She placed the stereo near the door before walking off.

"Y'know what, Twilight," Sunset uttered. "You stay here and get the window cleaned, I just need to go fetch something."

"Sure," Twilight replied, as Sunset jogged out the room.

After Sunset had left, Twilight brought a bucket filled with soapy water over to the window. Before she got started, she removed her tie, along with any other outer pieces of clothing that might get wet. She took the sponge out of the water and rubbed it against the glass, effectively removing the dust.

' _What happened back there? My heart felt like it was on the verge of a violent eruption!_ '

Wherever Sunset was going with that conversation, it did something strange to Twilight. She felt this surging feeling in her chest that she was completely unfamiliar with. The only time she felt anything like that was with Flash Sentry, and other times with Sunset.

What if...

' _No. That...that can't be right..._ '

As Twilight finished cleaning the window, Sunset came back into the room holding a small square case. She knelt down near the stereo, opened the case, and placed a small disc in the slot. After a button was pressed, the stereo started letting out some pleasant tunes.

Sunset turned around and smiled at Twilight. "Well, now that that's done, I think its time we move on to the walls."

They started by removing the last remnants of wallpaper that remained attached to the walls. Using some small masonry trowels they scraped it off bit by bit, leaving behind nothing but a blank grey concrete wall.

Afterwards they moved on to painting the wall, and there was a bucket of thick cyan paint and two large brushes laid out for the job. Sunset shed her jacket before getting started, leaving her in just a purple T-shirt and some jeans. As they dragged the paintbrushes up and down, coating the walls in the paint, the stereo continued playing song after song, ranging from instrumental to even one case of a capella.

"This is some good music," Twilight commented.

"I know," Sunset replied. "Its one of Vinyl's CDs."

"Wow, I didn't know this was the kind of stuff she did."

"Yeah well, neither did I."

As they continued working, the previous song ended, and the stereo started playing a different, yet very familiar song.

**Love is in bloom, a beautiful…**

"Wait a second, is that Love Is In Bloom?" Twilight asked in surprise.

"Yeah...do you know it?"

"Know it? I sang it at my brother's wedding!"

Sunset nodded. "Interesting."

Twilight continued covering the walls in paint as she tapped her feet to the music. There was clearly something different about the song compared to the day she sang it. Whatever Vinyl had done, the music had been altered, tweaked, and extended in a way that made all the notes fit together perfectly, to the point where the song could be described as beautiful.

Suddenly, Sunset stood up and stretched her hand out towards Twilight, and without even speaking, asked her to take it. It was obvious what Sunset was gesturing towards, but Twilight wasn't sure about it. It seemed like a weird idea.

So why did it feel so right?

Twilight joined her right hand with Sunset's, interlocking their fingers. Sunset then placed her left hand on Twilight's waist, and Twilight proceeded to do the same.

To the sound of the music, they started moving their feet in synchronization. It was nothing special, nothing fancy. Just them holding each other as they shifted their feet around the room together, their eyes locked on each other's faces. But honestly, it was one of the most beautiful experiences Twilight had ever been through.

**...Love is in bloooooooom…**

Everything in the world seemed to fade away except for Sunset and that amazing music. But the more she stared at Sunset, the quieter the music seemed to get.

**...A beaut...bride...handso...groom**

The tiny traces of cyan paint on Sunset's face mixed perfectly with her light amber skin and aqua eyes. Her red and yellow hair was in a pretty mess behind her head, strands of it hovering over her face. Twilight had never seen anything so beautiful.

**...said...love...in...bloom…**

Twilight focused looked deep into Sunset's eyes. Her aqua irises were like green pearls, the reflection of light making them almost sparkle. The music continued to blur as the eyes became the only thing in the world that seemed real.

**...starting a life...making room…**

And as she stared at Sunset, suddenly, everything made sense. What Discord had been saying, what Pinkie Pie had been saying, the way she had been feeling about Flash, the feeling in her chest. All of it came together in one answer, and that answer was Sunset Shimmer.

**...for us…**

Twilight couldn't hear the music anymore, and she couldn't see those eyes anymore. Because something even more beautiful was outshining them both.

And that was the feeling of Sunset's lips pressing back against hers.


	11. Love Is In Bloom-Sunset Shimmer

"Sunset."

Wherever the voice was coming from, Sunset couldn't see. It was too dark.

"Sunset!"

That voice was starting to bother her. Why couldn't it just go away?

"SUNSET SHIMMER!"

Sunset's eyes were forced open from the shock of the sudden noise. She stared upwards to see Salty Haze looking down at her. She did not look happy.

"Great, now that you're awake, I suggest you get up, or you're gonna miss out on breakfast."

After Salty walked out, Sunset fell facedown onto her pillow. She didn't want to get up. Then again, no one wants to get up on a school day. But these kind of things are just a fact of life, and people have to learn to deal with them.

If only life was half as pleasant as last night's dream.

Although, while the dream had been wonderful, she had trouble remembering the details. What happened in it exactly? Something to do with Twilight…

Sunset's eyes widened as the events of the previous day all came rushing back to her. The talking. The music. The dancing.

The kiss.

Her arms thrust into the air in triumphant fists while she let out an unsuccessfully restrained squeal of delight. It had actually happened! She and Twilight had actually kissed! Saying this was a dream come true was an understatement. This was something that Sunset could never even have imagined no more than a few days ago.

The memories of the previous day filled her with enough joyful energy to leap out the bed before slipping out of her pajamas and into her clothes. She ran out the door, through the hallway, and down the stairs, passing a very surprised looking Coppermane. When she reached the dining room she grabbed a bowl, filled it with Wheatabix and milk, and ran over to a table. After sitting down, she gave the Wheatabix multiple jabs with her spoon, mashing it into a state that looked similar to porridge, which she started wolfing down ferociously.

She happened to have sat next to Lens Flare, who stared at her while she ate.

"Wow, and people say I tend to eat weirdly."

No more than a second after he finished his sentence, Sunset was standing up and running towards the sink, which was followed by her washing the bowl and spoon, and putting it all back in their cupboards.

She spent the next few minutes doing her usual thing. Brushing her teeth, packing her bag, and generally making sure she was ready for school, breaking into little dances throughout the process. Before she even knew it, she was on the bus headed towards Canterlot High.

The seat on which she had sat down was placed next to Raspberry Roots, who looked at her oddly.

"Um...are you humming the tune of Love Is In Bloom?" She asked. "Last time I checked, you didn't really like that song."

Sunset turned her head and smiled. "Well, last time you checked, I wasn't this happy."

Raspberry looked at her with a raised eyebrow, clearly finding her attitude strange. Her eyes suddenly shot wide open, before she lunged forward and grabbed Sunset by the face. Sunset was too surprised to protest as her eyelids were stretched open, While Raspberry carefully inspected her eye. She then moved downwards and placed her ear against Sunset's chest, and Sunset suddenly became aware of her pounding heartbeat. And weirdest of all, Raspberry then placed her finger inside Sunset's mouth, wetting it against the inside of her cheeks. She then took the finger out and licked it, tasting the saliva.

Raspberry then looked at Sunset with narrowed eyes. "Someone's had their first kiss."

"Uhhhhh..." Sunset replied. "what... makes you say... "

"Don't lie to me, pony girl. I've seen the signs before, and you are currently covered in them. As Charles Ramses once quoteth, 'Deeeaaad giveaway."

Sunset was at a loss for words.

"So who was she?"

That last word struck Sunset the hardest. "She?"

"That saliva lacked the taste of testosterone."

"Um...do you even know what testosterone is?"

"No idea, but that's not the point. The point is that... " Her eyebrows then narrowed as a sign of thinking. "...wait a minute... " Her mouth spread into a grin. "...it's that pony princess isn't it."

"Uh..."

"Ha! An Uh! The most futile kind of denial there is. You totally kissed...what's her name... Twilight Sparkle? Yeah, that's it. You totally kissed Twilight Sparkle!"

The volume that she had uttered that last part with made Sunset remember something that Twilight had mentioned before leaving yesterday.

"Um... Raspberry... "Sunset said quietly, successfully getting her attention. "You...wouldn't mind keeping quiet about that would you. Just... pretend it never happened."

Raspberry froze. "Say what?"

"Well...Twilight doesn't really want this incident to be... you know...shouted out loud on a bus."

She responded by sitting down properly on her chair and staring at the back of the chair, though her grin remained.

"Want your privacy," she whispered. "I can respect that."

***

Although that event on the bus was slightly uncomfortable for Sunset, as soon as she stepped out onto the school grounds her elation returned to her. She continued humming Love Is In Bloom while her head swayed side to side as she walked down the concrete path. It had been a really long time since she had felt this happy.

But at the back of her mind, there was something bothering her.

After she and Twilight had kissed, they went back to work in silence. When the walls were done, there was nothing more they could do, since everything else like the lights required more professional work. As soon as they had finished, it was time for Twilight to go. But before leaving, she told Sunset not to mention the kiss to anyone. And judging by the tone she was speaking at the time, she meant it.

And that was what bothered her. There were a lot of things implied if Twilight didn't want anyone else to know that they'd kissed. And some implications were definitely less pleasant than others.

But that was something to be discussed later. Right now, there was almost nothing that could bring her mood down.

And what a mood it was. She went up the stairs in more of a skipping fashion than just walking up them, and as she walked through the doorway and into the halls of Canterlot High she started to do a little dance, clicking her fingers, swaying her head, and shifting her feet to the song being hummed.

Down the hallway, all the other students and staff were starting the day in their various ways. Kids going through their lockers, teachers chatting as they walked down the hallway, the janitor clearing out a bin, all these mundane things became beautiful in the eyes of a lovestruck Sunset Shimmer.

"Morning guys!" she called over to the Diamond Dogs before doing a happy three sixty degree twirl and continuing to amble on. Spot, Rover, and Fido looked up from the pretty stone they were examining and gave Sunset a confused look, since there were little to no previous instances where she had ever directly spoken to them.

Trixie and the Illusions were gathered near Trixie's locker, also looking at something. Knowing Trixie, its was probably a plan to execute some strange magic trick in order to impress the school.

"Good morning!" Sunset greeted them as she walked by, and while Trixie and one of her cronies were still focused on whatever they were looking at, the other girl gave her a friendly wave.

Further down the hallway, she found Miss Harshwhinny walking in the opposite direction while struggling with a large pile of papers.

Suddenly, she stumbled over slightly, allowing a few sheets to fall off the pile. Luckily for her, Sunset quickly responded to the situation by skidding in front of her and catching the papers in mid-air before they had a chance to hit the ground.

"I think you dropped these," Said Sunset, placing the papers back on top of the pile.

Before Harshwhinny could thank her, Sunset was already striding off again.

Ahead of Sunset was the door of one of the classrooms, wide open with noise coming from it. As she passed it she took a quick look inside to see Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie having some kind of argument. The strangest thing was that Pinkie Pie was holding on to a large blue cannon with pink wheels.

"Don't you see, Dashie!" Pinkie exclaimed to rainbow Dash. "The Equestria Girls party cannon is now canon!"

"Yes, Pinkie, I see that it’s a cannon," Dash replied. "What I'm asking is why it's in a classroom?!"

"But it’s canon now!"

"I know it’s a cannon!"

Sunset heard Pinkie let out an annoyed moan as she walked out of hearing distance.

Across the hallway she walked, Sunset gave a friendly greeting to everyone she passed, and got happier with every positive response she was given. Around the corner was a bunch of lockers, and at one of the lockers, she found one of the main people she was looking for.

Vinyl was sorting out her locker, collecting the books she required and storing those she didn't need. Slightly unaware of her surroundings due to the headphone covering her ears, she was taken by surprise when suddenly locked in tight hug from Sunset.

"Waaaaaaaah?!" Vinyl exclaimed, instinctively trying to free herself. "What the hell, dude?!"

As soon as she realized that suddenly grabbing someone likely isn't comfortable for them, Sunset released her.

"Vinyl Scratch, you are my Hero!"

Vinyl removed her headphones and raised an eyebrow behind her shades. "Say what now?"

Sunset's left hand rummaged through one of the small side pockets in her bag and brought out the CD.

"This CD worked wonders!" Sunset proclaimed, handing it back to the DJ. "It happened. Everything you talked about actually happened!"

"Everything?"

"Yeah," Sunset replied, nodding her head happily. "Dancing, kiss... " One again, she remembered what Twilight had said. "Actually... its best I don't go into details... "

Vinyl winced slightly. "That sounds... disturbingly explicit."

Traces of blush started appearing on Sunset's face when she realised what Vinyl was implying. "I suppose it does..."

"Moving on," Vinyl jabbered. "I'm glad it worked out for you. But next time I help you, please don't thank me in such a... sudden and affectionate way."

"Sure," Sunset glanced at a clock, seeing that lessons were fast approaching. "Gotta go. See ya Vinyl."

And with that, she jogged down the hallway as Vinyl waved farewell to her.

***

Strangely enough, Sunset didn't find any of her friends in the music room. It could be assumed that they had just gathered in smaller groups all over CHS. It wasn't the first time, but of all days that particular day was one of the worst for that to happen. As the time gap between the present and the kiss got larger, Sunset longed to see Twilight again.

Since she had been unable to find the group, Sunset went to lessons alone. At History she was joined by Rarity and Fluttershy, as they were part of the usual class. Next was Math, where she was joined by Applejack. But in both of these lessons, Twilight was nowhere to be seen.

The urge to see her grew stronger, but for different reasons.

Why did Twilight want to keep the kiss a secret? Was she embarrassed about it? Why would she be? Was it because both of them were girls?

Was she unsure about something?

Did she not feel the same way?

The more she thought about it, the more she felt something inside her. Something very close to fear.

Hopefully, she would be there at break, and they would have a chance to talk about it. Sunset found herself looking at the clock every few seconds, counting down the minutes to when she could finally go.

At long last, Mr. Donkey set them their homework and permitted them to leave. Sunset had to hold back the urge to run as she walked out the classroom and towards the cafeteria.

It seemed her efforts to hold back on running were in slight vain, as she was the first person to set foot in the cafeteria. To be fair, they didn't serve food during the first break, so it didn't normally have people in it at this time. But despite this, it was the regular meeting place of Sunset and her friends, along with a few other social groups.

Sunset sat herself down and locked her eyes on the entrance, waiting for her friends to arrive. If Twilight was anywhere, it had to be with them.

As minute after minute passed, and student after student came through the doors, she was beginning to doubt it. But as she was on the verge of leaving the cafeteria to look for Twilight somewhere else, she saw the strong, muscular figure of Applejack appear through the doorway.

Right behind her were Rarity and Rainbow Dash. And following them was Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy... and Twilight!

If Sunset had no willpower, she would be running towards Twilight and grabbing her in a passionate embrace. Luckily, Sunset had plenty of willpower, and did no such thing, allowing herself to sit casually as her friends sat down around her. To her indescribable joy, Twilight sat down right next to her.

Everyone else sitting at the table starting breaking into their own conversations, while Twilight just watched them in silence, and Sunset watched her in turn.

Eventually, she built up the nerve to confront her.

"Twilight?" she whispered, placing her hand on the princess' shoulder.

Twilight closed her eyes and let out a small sigh, as if she had been dreading a moment like this.

"Not right now, Sunset," she said in a voice with a hint of sadness.

"What do you mean?"

"It just... isn't the time."

"Then when is?"

Twilight turned her head to face Sunset, staring into her eyes with a mixture of emotions that were hard to identify.

"Meet me behind the school after the last class has ended. Then we'll... talk."

***

The outside air never seemed so chilly.

It had been about six minutes since the last class ended. As soon as they had been let out, Sunset had run out the back entrance, hoping to see Twilight there. She was nowhere to be seen.

Apparently there were some plans to eventually develop something behind the school, but for now there wasn't much to take note of. Just a large metal fence blocking the school from the rest of the city, under the shade of small trees. There was nothing else to speak of except for a small grey bench on top of the green grass. It was so simple, the fact that they had bothered to add a back entrance at all seemed weird to Sunset.

Yet in the afternoon light, it all seemed... remarkably pretty.

Sunset sat herself down on the bench and waited, while continuing to admire the scenery as well.

And while she sat there, she feared and anticipated whatever would come next.

All of a sudden, she heard the quiet sound of crunching grass. Turning her head, she found herself looking at Twilight Sparkle, slowly walking towards her with her hair swaying in the breeze.

"Hey."

Twilight's mouth stretched into a tiny smile. "Hi."

Sunset scooted over to the other end of the bench, leaving plenty of space for Twilight to sit. When Twilight reached the bench she sat herself down, leaving little space between the two, while not exactly touching.

"So... " Twilight mumbled. "How was your day?"

Sunset closed her eyes and let the feelings inside her run loose, as all the thoughts that had been building up that day took over her mind.

"Look Twilight, I don't want any of this 'How was your day?' nonsense. You know why I want to talk to you."

At that moment, any signs of casualness on Twilight's face slipped into some type of sadness.

"About last night?" she asked.

Sunset scooted closer towards her. "Of course about last night. We can't just ignore what happened. We kissed."

Twilight's eyes squinted shut and she looked down at the ground, as if trying to repress the memory.

"Twilight," Sunset said, her voice dripping with emotion. "I want to know how you feel about it. About me."

She continued to stare at the ground, and as Sunset looked closer, there were traces of tears in her eyes.

"I... don't... know... " Twilight mumbled.

"What do you mean?" Sunset asked, the fear from earlier growing inside her again.

"Last night was... wonderful." Twilight lifted her head from staring at the ground and looked straight into Sunset's eyes. "I've never felt anything so... strong... "

From these words, a great load of fear that Sunset had been feeling evaporated into relief. Twilight definitely had feelings for her, yet there was something else going on…

"But..." Sunset could hear Twilight's voice start to crack, as the tears in her eyes became more and more visible. "It's not right. I'm a princess of Equestria. I can't be doing things that are so... against... everything my society knows. If a princess of Equestria was in a relationship with a mare, there would be... complete chaos. The nobles, the lords, the aristocrats, the entire Canterlot society. They would never accept a homosexual princess. And what Canterlot does, the rest of Equestria will follow."

Twilight's hand was lifted off the bench and placed on Sunset's cheek. Sunset lost her focus on the situation for a second as she basked in the softness of that lavender palm.

"But at the same time... I can't stop the thoughts. The thoughts about you. Ever since that kiss... I've wanted nothing more than to see you again, to talk to you again, to touch you again."

Upon finishing that last word, Twilight's other hand was placed on Sunset's other cheek.

"But as a princess... I just can't do that."

As both of them sat there, with Twilight's hands around Sunset's face, the tears running down Twilight's own cheeks, Sunset thought about everything Twilight had said.

All the fear that Sunset had been feeling suddenly felt meaningless. She then understood that if anyone had a reason to be afraid, it was Twilight. It didn't matter if she wanted to be with Sunset or not. Back in Equestria, she was a princess. The highest among the high society. The one that had to be respected. The Equestria that Sunset knew always had trouble with acceptance. The common townspeople may be quite accepting of homosexuals, but from what Sunset remembered there was always racism and elitism all over Equestria, and it was most prominent in high society. Among the ponies with the most money and power.

If it was revealed to people like those that Twilight was homosexual or bisexual, the respect for the princesses might get shattered. And if that happened, the same could happen to the monarchy in its entirety.

But in spite of all this, Sunset wasn't afraid anymore. And if she wasn't afraid, Twilight didn't have to be either.

"No one has to know."

Twilight's tearful eyes became locked with Sunset's. As Sunset looked into those magenta orbs, she saw uncertainty. But at the same time, she saw hope.

"I just... the risk... " She sniffed.

Sunset took Twilight's hands off her cheeks and held them in her own hands. She stared at Twilight with a look of assertiveness.

It was the time for honesty. It was the time to get to the point.

"Do you want this, Twilight?"

Twilight stared back at her, eyes filled with uncertainty, fear, and confusion. But at the same time, the hope was still there.

"But what if someone finds out? What if we get discovered?"

Sunset squeezed Twilight's hands, tight, yet softly.

"That wasn't the question. The question was, do you want this, Twilight?"

Their gazes remained locked as a moment of silence passed between them.

"More than anything," Twilight whispered.

Continuing to stare into Twilight's eyes, Sunset saw something else besides all the emotions that she had seen previously. Something besides fear, confusion, and hope. Something similar to what she had seen in Twilight the previous night.

And at the same time, Sunset felt something inside her that reminded her of the previous night.

"Okay." Sunset whispered back.

As they pulled each other in for their second kiss, Sunset began to feel everything she had seen in Twilight's eyes. The thought of the prejudiced society that waited for them back in Equestria filled her with uncertainty and fear. But at the same time, the knowledge that Twilight was well and truly hers filled her with more hope and happiness than she had ever felt before.


	12. Family-Twilight Sparkle

"Check."

By advancing her knight forward, Twilight had successfully endangered Sunset's King. The king would have to move from its place, and since it was right at the back of the board, and the spaces left and forward were in range of Twilight's Queen and Bishop, there was no choice but to move right. After that, Twilight just had to move a Pawn forward and the game would be hers.

Sunset spent a few seconds analyzing the board, before picking up her Queen and moving it to the upper left space from Twilight's King.

' _Did she just put her most effective piece in range of my king? Where's the logic in that? All I have to do is move..._ '

It was then that she saw it. There was a pawn placed in the upper right space from the space that the Queen was placed on. If Twilight's King took out Sunset's Queen, then that Pawn could just take the King out. If the King couldn't take out the Queen then it would just have to evade it. But as Twilight scanned over the board, she saw that there wasn't a spot to evade to. The Queen made any spaces left or in front of the King unavailable, moving backwards would just put it in range of a Castle, and one of Sunset's Bishops made sure that the King couldn't move right. It was trapped.

"Check. Mate." Sunset proclaimed, with a triumphant grin on her face.

Twilight spent the next few seconds sitting there with a dumbfounded expression on her face as Sunset's grin grew greater in size.

"I don't think... anyone... has... ever... beaten me at chess."

"Well, my sweet Twilight, you have clearly never fought an opponent that has played against Celestia herself."

"Wait, like...you beat her?!"

Sunset looked pretty shocked at the suggestion. "Of course not. With her wisdom and experience, I don't think anyone can beat Celestia. But after you play plenty of chess games with her, you learn a thing or three."

"Well then... I clearly haven't played enough chess with her."

"Well, at least you tried."

The playful smile on Sunset's face hit Twilight with that warm rushing feeling that she had discovered so recently. It was just how beautiful she looked when she had that expression, and how it was genuinely directed at her. It had been three days since they became a couple, and Twilight was still feeling the full force of the fresh relationship. Every smile, every laugh, Twilight couldn't help but love every positive emotion that Sunset had almost as much as she loved Sunset herself. She couldn't really say that she had never been happier, as was the description so many people gave to the feeling of love. She had always been happy, but being with Sunset... it was just something else entirely.

And it seemed like Sunset was thinking similar thoughts, because all of a sudden she was leaning over the table and pushing her lips onto Twilight's.

As always, Twilight found herself lost in the kiss. With her eyes closed and the feeling of Sunset's lips on her own, everything else seemed to slip out of existence. She could feel and hear everything around her, but the kiss left no space in her mind to process any of it.

That was, until she started to hear the vibrating.

At the sudden sound emitting from Sunset's bag, the two girls separated their lips and looked at the ground. The bag itself was vibrating along with the sound, glowing with pink light.

The journal!

Sunset reached for her bag and pulled the book out of one of the large pockets. The book finished glowing and vibrating as she opened the pages, reading whatever new words lay within.

"It's for you." She said, handing the book over to Twilight.

She took a look at the open pages before her, and found a lot of new entries from Spike trying to get a hold of her with no success, similar to what she was trying to do before. However, the latest message was different.

_Twilight!_

I'm so glad to hear from you again. The portal suddenly stopped working last week, and no one could get it open. Everyone's been really worried about you. Please come home or at least respond to this message as soon as you can.

Spike.

She looked up from the journal and at Sunset's face, which showed a hint of concern.

Twilight let out a deep breath. "Looks like I'm going home."

***

As Twilight brushed her hands against the mirror, she felt it dissipate as ripples and light spread across the glass.

The portal was open.

Twilight looked at Sunset standing next to her, still looking a bit concerned. That wasn't really a surprise, since at the other side of the mirror was everything they had feared when they got into the relationship. But at the same time, Twilight's friends and family were on the other side as well, and she'd been gone too long.

"Don't worry, Twilight," Sunset insisted, though she still had that look on her. "It's just been a week, how bad could it be?"

Twilight had the sudden terrifying thought of an Equestria in ruins, as an alliance between Tirek, the Changelings and an alien armada lays waste to everything, and mutant cyborg zombies prey upon the innocent.

"Sure," Twilight squeaked, trying to get the image out of her head. "You ready?"

Sunset smiled, taking Twilight's hand. "Of course."

And together, they walked into the light.

In that space between dimensions, Twilight felt Sunset's fingers slip out of her own, which curled into a fist before merging together into a hoof. She felt her ears grow and stick out into an equine shape, her nose and mouth growing outward into a muzzle. Her legs shrank as her feet curled into hind legs and hooves, and her hair grew down her neck into a mane, as more hair protruded from the bottom of her spine as a tail. Every bone in her body bent, broke, and connected into an entirely different structure, her spine bending backwards and her skull changing shape. Finally, her shoulders split apart and released a mass of flesh and bone that became feathery wings, and a long piece of bone thrust out her skull, wrapping itself in a thin layer of muscle, skin and fur, creating a long, elegant horn.

This transformation that could be considered grotesque and painful, took place in less than a second, and Twilight felt nothing of it.

She did feel herself walking out the other end of the mirror, still standing on her hind legs. The efforts of gravity and her equestrian body forced her to the ground, but she prevented a painful crash to the floor by falling on her front hooves. She looked down at them, lavender fur covering them. She then looked at her back, taking in the full view of her tail and wings. She was a pony once again.

She looked to her left to see Sunset Shimmer, now an amber unicorn mare. A bit shamefully, Twilight found herself kinda missing the human forms round chest. But seeing Sunset in her true Equestrian form, the beautiful fur, the smooth horn, the snazzy mane and hair style, it all brought a smile to her face.

"Library looks nice as always," Sunset complimented, taking a look around.

Twilight herself got a good look at the library, and saw that it was a lot better kept than the last time she had been there. All the furniture was placed in good spots and the bookshelves were in excellent states. All that could almost certainly be the work of Spike.

The two mares stepped out of the library and into the hallway. As they trod on, Twilight felt the need to see some of her friends and family again.

"Hello?" She called down the hallway.

There was no response. Just the quiet halls of the castle.

"Anyone there? Spike? Applejack? Fluttershy?"

Still nothing but silence. Perhaps no one was there…

" **TWILIGHT!** "

She felt herself hit the ground as a pink blur crashed into her. She looked up to see Pinkie Pie lying on top of her, smothering her in a tight, passionate hug.

"Twilight, I'm so happy to see you! My fears of you being the mind controlled slave of a demon overlord can now be put to rest!"

Twilight turned her head right and looked down the hallway to see all her friends walking towards her.

"Well, I'll be," Applejack said, a huge smile on her face. "You're finally back."

Even after she got up from the floor, Pinkie Pie was still hugging her, and one by one every one of her friends joined in on the embrace. It had only been a week since she had last seen them, but at that moment it felt like it had been so much longer than that. And sure, the human world had its own versions of these girls, but her original friends just couldn't be replaced.

"So what happened?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Why wouldn't the portal open?"

As all her friends left the hug, Twilight explained everything that had happened, why the portal couldn't open and why they couldn't contact each other. They all seemed to understand and were glad that nothing truly serious had happened to her or the mirror.

"We're just glad you’re back now," said Fluttershy. "It really must have been scary being trapped there."

"No worries," Twilight insisted. "The scariest experience I've ever had there was my first visit, when the prospect of being stuck there for thirty moons was looming over my head."

"It's good to know the portal didn't stay closed for a similar length of time," said Rarity. "That would have just tragic."

"Well, it was just a week," Twilight replied. "How are my parents by the way? And Shining Armour for that matter. They must have been really worried."

"Don't worry," Rarity responded. "We sent letters to them as soon as Spike received that message from you."

"Thanks."

"Speaking of which, we also sent a message to Princess Celestia that we received word from you."

"Did she reply?"

Rarity nodded. "She wants to see you in Canterlot as soon as possible."

***

"Look, it’s gonna be fine," Sunset insisted.

As nice as Sunset's attempts at comforting Twilight were, they didn't do much to help. The halls of the Canterlot Castle never looked so intimidating, especially with the guards posted at each side of the hall.

"But I've been gone for a week! And now my mentor and superior wants to see me! What if she's angry with how long I've been gone? What if I missed out on something important? What if she’s going to take my title away?"

"Come on, Twi, you know her. She'd never do that."

She felt Sunset move closer to her as they walked, their backs touching each other. This helped ease her a lot more, but she still felt greatly concerned about how her talk with Celestia would go.

Further down the halls was a great wooden double door, with two guards posted at each side like with the rest of the hall. As the Princess and the unicorn approached it, the two guards opened the doors to reveal the hallway that lead to the chambers of the Princesses.

They also revealed an unexpected surprise.

That particular hallway was filled with a few more royal guards, only they were a bit more active, moving around the halls, coming and going in and out of various rooms, and talking with someone that looked like a captain. A pegasus with orange fur, blue hair, and golden armour.

"Princess Twilight," said Flash Sentry, bowing his head with a smile on his face. "You look beautiful as always."

He took her hoof and kissed it, a chivalrous gesture that Twilight probably would have swooned over no more than a month ago. But now, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable from it, especially in the presence of her girlfriend.

"What are you doing here?" Twilight asked. "I thought you worked in the Crystal Empire?"

"I was temporarily transferred here yesterday, apparently. I'm getting an important assignment pretty soon," Flash turned his head to see Sunset. "Well, well, well, Sunset Shimmer. Haven't seen you in a while. It’s been what... three, four years?"

"Forty five moons to be exact," Sunset replied. She looked clearly unamused.

"Well, glad to see you're back, and you've made a friend of the princess I see."

' _Oh, you have absolutely no idea._ '

The thought brought a small chuckle out of Twilight.

"Something funny, Princess?" Flash asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing," Twilight replied. "Just remembered something funny."

"Good to know." Flash put on a flirty smile. "Seeing you laugh is always a treat."

" **Well then...** " said Sunset, who also had a smile on her face, though the look in her eyes told Twilight that she was thinking some pretty violent thoughts. "I'm sure the Princess needs to get on with her royal business now."

"Right," said Flash, clearly unaware of how Sunset was feeling. "Down the hallway, you'll find Princess Celestia at the last and largest door."

He turned to Sunset. "Sorry, Shimmy, but this is strictly royal business. No one besides the Princesses move on from this point."

"Okay..." Sunset replied, though she was clearly unhappy with this. "I guess I'll see you outside, Twi."

After a short walk down the hallway, Twilight found the large door at the end that Flash had described. It was little more than a large white double door with golden borders and the cutie mark of Celestia on it. Despite its simplicity, it managed to look very regal.

Remembering her manners, Twilight knocked three times on the wood.

No more than two seconds later, the door opened itself to reveal Princess Celestia.

"Twilight," she greeted her happily, walking over and hugging her.

And with that, any fear or concern that Twilight had previously been feeling was washed away.

"It's so good to see you again, are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine."

"Spike told me a few days ago that you had gone to the other world and hadn't returned. He said that the portal refused to open. Do you know what happened?"

Twilight explained everything to her as she had explained to her friends. How she had gone to visit Sunset, how the portal closed behind her, and how it would not work for the week at the opposite end of the cycle that it would normally work. Throughout the explanation, Celestia stood there and listened in silence.

"I see," she said, once Twilight had finished. "It would appear that that mirror holds a few more secrets than we initially thought. I'm just glad you're safe now."

"Did anything happen when I was gone?"

Celestia's smile faded at this. "I'm afraid there has, Twilight. I believe you are aware that two weeks ago, the Griffin King passed away."

Twilight had been busy with her castle, so she wasn't very up to date with recent events outside of Equestria, making this a major surprise.

"King Aetós is dead?"

"I'm afraid so. At the old age of a hundred and two, I was expecting it would happen sooner or later. What I was not expecting was what would come of it. His eldest children are two twin girls, both the same age, and anyone who was present at their birth has also passed away by now, so no one knows which one is older. Because of this, no one knows which one is the rightful heir. It also doesn't help that they don't get along well, so any thoughts of them working together as co rulers have been dismissed. Both of them claim to be the rightful heir, and this has lead to conflict in the griffin kingdom."

That didn't sound good to Twilight. "How bad is it?"

"The citizens and the law enforcement are becoming more and more divided by the day. The people of the Griffin Kingdom have more or less split into two sides, both supporting the princess they believe should take the throne. There hasn't been anything as serious as death, but there has been strong violence in the streets, leading to many severe injuries and several innocents in prison. The entire kingdom is one the verge of a civil war."

"That sounds horrible."

"It is. Now, we've tried to organize a conference between the rulers of Equestria and the Griffin Kingdom, but the griffin Princesses refuse to come unless all four Equestrian Princesses are present. And with you gone, we haven't been able to do so. The conflict in the Griffin Kingdom is continuing as we speak."

That was what hit Twilight the hardest. Because she had gone to visit Sunset, and because she had been trapped in the human world, she had avoided her duties as a princess. There were people suffering in the griffin kingdom. Suffering she could have stopped if she had just been there!

"I'm... I'm so sorry..."

"You don't have to apologize Twilight, no one aside from Starswirl himself could have predicted what happened to you. And now that you're here we can organize another conference in a few days."

"But... I should have been there..."

Celestia put her hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Its fine Twilight, it’s not your fault. Nothing has happened in the Griffin Kingdom that cannot be repaired, it will just take longer to fix everything. What's important now is that you are home, safe and sound."

Twilight smiled. "Sunset saw to it that I was taken care of."

At the mention of Sunset's name, any sign of a smile on Celestia's face was gone. "I see..."

It was evident that Celestia's view on Sunset hadn't changed. But now that Twilight realized how much she loved Sunset, she wasn't going to give up trying to change Celestia's opinion.

"Look, Celestia, I understand if you can't let go of the past, but Sunset... she’s really changed. If you'd just talk to her..."

"Twilight, we have talked about this already, I'll talk to Sunset when I am ready."

"But when will you be ready? There's nothing stopping you right now."

Celestia sighed. "This isn't about my relationship with Sunset Shimmer, this is about your safety. In my centuries I have lived I have seen more betrayal and deception than you could understand. And my distrust of her is one reason why I'm putting together a guard force for you."

Twilight was stunned into silence for a second. "A what?"

"I requested that captain Flash Sentry be transferred from the Crystal Empire. He and a select few will have the duty of protecting you and your castle from now on."

"Uh... wouldn't it have been a good idea to have consulted me on this?"

"If I did, would you have accepted?"

"No."

"Exactly. You don't understand the danger you tend to put yourself in, and I care deeply about your safety. Anyway, there shouldn't be anything wrong with having guards keeping you safe. They'll be there to protect you against danger and nothing else. It won't be any different from the guards we have here."

' _Sunset is not gonna be happy with Flash Sentry living in my castle._ '

"Look, Celestia, I don't really mind the idea of having a bunch of guards in my castle. I just don't think it’s necessary. Sunset would never want to hurt me."

Celestia closed her eyes and lowered her head sadly. "Your insistence of your safety is exactly why I want you protected. I won't go so far as to forbid you from seeing Sunset Shimmer, but I insist that you stay alert. I just want you safe. You are dismissed."

Twilight turned around and walked over to the door. Before leaving, she turned her head to face Celestia.

"Celestia, when I try to get you to forgive Sunset, it's because I'm trying to help you."

At the distance that Twilight was standing, she could see that Celestia wasn't happy, but she couldn't tell if she was sad or angry.

"I'm the ruler of Equestria. I don't need help."

Twilight closed the door behind her as she walked out of the room.

As she walked down the hallway in silence, she couldn't help but think about how annoying it was that Celestia wouldn't even give Sunset a chance.

' _Sunset would never want to hurt me. Why can't she see that? Even if Sunset turned evil once, Celestia has always been one to forgive people. What about Discord? She was pretty eager to try and reform him. What makes Sunset any different?!_ '

"Twilight Sparkle."

She stopped walking. Did she just hear someone whisper her name? She looked around and saw nothing but closed doors in an empty hallway.

"Twilight Sparkle."

Suddenly, one of the doors slammed wide open.

"Um..." Twilight was finding this very weird and suspicious. "...hello?"

There was no answer, just an open door that revealed a pitch black dark room.

Despite the fact that going into a dark mysterious room to follow a mysterious voice was probably a really bad idea, Twilight's curiosity was getting the better of her. Step by step, she slowly walked into the darkness.

And the moment her tail crossed the border of the door, she heard a loud slam behind her, leaving her in the pitch black darkness.

"Who are you?" Twilight asked, getting nervous from the situation.

After a few seconds of being left in the darkness, she spotted a small blue glowing light.

The light grew in size and brightness, not lighting up the entire room, but revealing that it was emitting from a horn. A navy alicorn horn.

"Princess Luna?"

As her eyes adjusted to the light, Twilight found herself looking upon the princess of the night.

"Hello, Twilight Sparkle."

"What are you doing here? What’s with the weird secrecy act?"

"I don't want anyone to know that we spoke."

Despite the fact that she now knew where the voice had come from, she was still finding the situation confusing.

"What do you want?" Twilight asked.

Luna moved closer to Twilight, unnerving her with the very serious expression on her face. "I want you to stop trying to convince Celestia of Sunset's reformation. Any efforts to do so are futile."

Twilight was baffled. "Don't tell me you refuse to see the good in her, too!"

"Of course not. You should know that I of all people understand the turmoils of a reformed former villainess. After speaking with her, I see that her situation was very similar to my own."

"You... spoke with her?" Twilight couldn't recall something like that ever happening.

"I visited Sunset in her dreams."

"You can do that?" Now she was just getting confused.

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle never mentioned it?"

"No."

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that it will take a lot more for Celestia to even try and make amends with Sunset."

"But why? What makes her any different to other reformed villains like Discord, or even YOU for that matter?"

"Because to Celestia, Sunset Shimmer was more than a good person turned to evil. She was a failure."

"What do mean?"

"I mean that she was meant to be what you are. The next alicorn princess."

This wasn't really a surprise to Twilight. She had deduced that Celestia intended on making Sunset an alicorn. The problem was that it had to be earned, and Sunset had tried to demand it without really earning it.

"But it wasn't a case like yours, Twilight. Sunset wasn't a talented unicorn that Celestia saw as having the potential to be an alicorn. She was **born** for it."

This was making little sense to Twilight. "What do you mean born for it?"

Luna was quiet for a second. "What did Sunset tell you of her past? Her... origins so to speak?"

"She told me that her father was a soldier that was killed when she was two. Since no one knew who her mother was she was sent to an orphanage, where she spent the rest of her childhood living in. She got into a fight with this unicorn guy and Celestia was so impressed that she took her in as her student."

"Did she tell you that she wanted to become a powerful unicorn because she was inspired by stories of her father told to her by veteran soldiers that he knew?"

"Yes, I didn't think that was really important..."

"I honestly don't know if all of those veterans would have given Sunset so much attention had they not been told to do so."

"What... are you saying that Celestia told them to visit her?"

Luna nodded. "As another deed in service to Equestria. And don't you think it's strange that Celestia was there to see Sunset's duel against Arran Clover?"

This was getting too cryptic for Twilight. "What are you getting at?"

"Celestia orchestrated a great number of the most important events in Sunset's life. That's why she refuses to reconcile with her. She sees her as a failure that she created."

"But... why Sunset?"

"As I have done with many ponies before, I have entered Celestia's mind through her dreams. When doing this, I found out... a few things."

"You did what?!" Twilight was shocked to hear that Luna would disrupt Celestia's privacy like that.

"During the time when the portal between this world and the anti-universe was closed by Starswirl the Bearded, Celestia spent many centuries trying to fix the bridge between the two universes, so that she could reunite with her beloved Sombra. But in that time, there were many cases where she found herself getting... lonely, and in those cases she would enter short relationship with a stallion."

"What has that got to do with any of this?"

"One of these stallions was a lieutenant in the Equestrian Scouting Legion."

For a second Twilight was just confused again. But suddenly, hundreds of pieces came together. Why Celestia would do all this. Why she would send veterans to inspire Sunset to be a great unicorn, why she would train Sunset to be an alicorn princess, why she saw Sunset as a failure of hers.

' _Sunset's mother was unknown..._ "

"Twilight Sparkle..." Before Luna even spoke, Twilight knew what she was going to say. "Sunset is Celestia's daughter."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise to the readers of this story on this site for how long this chapter took. I've been a bit busy with another story, so I didn't really consider updating this to be a priority.
> 
> Once again, I should probably remind you that not only does this take a lot of influence to the comics (If you're confused about this talk of anti-dimensions and Celestia being with Sombra (Anti-Sombra specifically)) and these chapters are originally around a year to two years old, so my depiction of the Griffon's homeland is pretty different to what we eventually got.
> 
> I remember my readers getting their minds blown by this plot twist when this chapter was first released, so I hope the readers of this site think similar. I came up with it a bit into the story when I felt I could use a better reason for Celestia not trusting Sunset after I received some criticism that it felt a bit contrived. It may seem very 'fanficy', but this was my first fanfiction, so that should be kinda expected.
> 
> As always, please comment and critique so I can improve for future chapters and stories.


	13. Inner Demons-Sunset Shimmer

To her left, she saw red walls. To her right, she saw red walls. Ahead of her, she saw darkness.

Once again, Sunset Shimmer found herself in the red corridor.

But unlike the previous times, she wasn't walking forward. She didn't want to walk forward. Every time she had, there was nothing good at the end.

Instead, she sat down, and waited.

What she was waiting for, she really didn't know, but anything had to be better than going down that red corridor.

She looked to her right at one of the walls. Like the previous nights, the walls were blood red, with smudges of cinnamon scattered across them, moving, shifting, and changing their shape. But Sunset noticed something. It wasn't like the previous nights. The cinnamon parts were moving a lot faster and a lot more erratically than before. And the more they shifted, the more familiar the shapes seemed to look.

Sunset found herself unable to look at the walls anymore, and looked down at the cherry red floor. But despite the fact that she was looking at nothing but red, the images she saw on the wall were burned into her mind. She couldn't even distinguish them, but there was something about them that made her feel sick and scared.

Suddenly, she felt something creep up on her back. It didn't feel like anything physical, it didn't feel like anything magical, it barely even felt like it existed at all, but she could feel it. In the clutches of fear, she slowly turned her head around.

And saw nothing but the corridor descending into darkness.

Despite the fact that she saw nothing there, she felt like something **Was** there. She found herself continuing to look back at the corridor behind her, unable to look away.

She **couldn't** go back.

And the more she stared into the darkness, the more the fear inside her continued to grow. She couldn't really understand why, but there was something about it that was slowly terrifying her. It was as if she knew that there was something in the darkness that was staring right back at her, but at the same time she knew there wasn't. Worst of all, no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't look away as the fear ripped into her.

After what seemed like hours, she finally broke out of her paralysis and bolted down the hallway.

She **couldn't** go back.

It didn't matter what lay ahead of her this time. Anything was better than what was back there. The cinnamon smudges on the walls began to blur as she picked up speed. Air rushed past her ears as she ran, making her hear a whistling sound that just got louder and louder.

She **couldn't** go back.

The sound in her ears changed pitch and tone in a way that Sunset couldn't understand. But as it continued to change, she realized that it was recreating the sound of the voices.

" _Celestia thinks she can keep me from my **destiny**?!_ "

She **couldn't** go back.

" _Once I get my hands on that crown, I'll make them all **pay** for how they treated me!_ "

She **couldn't** go back.

" _How dare she give my rightful place as Princess to that lavender **freak**!_ "

Sunset's eyes shut tight as she let out a scream.

"I can't go back!"

And she opened her eyes to find that she had reached the end of the corridor.

It was like the room that she had encountered the first time, only it was much larger, and there was no sign of any pedestal or crown. The walls were curved, giving the room a circular shape. They were also blood red instead of cherry red, and lacking any cinnamon smudges. In fact, when Sunset took a closer look she realised that the colours of the floor and walls had swapped.

Sunset's neck twisted as she looked back at the corridor. The darkness in the distanced seemed to bare its fangs at her as she looked into it.

She **couldn't** go back.

With no other options she could think of, she walked closer to the centre of the room, her footsteps echoing off the walls. As she got closer and closer to the centre, she looked up at the ceiling, only to discover that there was no ceiling. Like the corridor behind her, the walls just rose up into a blind darkness.

Once she reached the middle of the room she stopped walking. No idea of what she was meant to do entered her mind, and no opportunity arrived. In search of answers, she looked up at the walls.

And it was then that she saw it.

From the darkness above came fiery orange smudges, similar to the ones on the walls of the corridor. Unlike those though, they weren't as random or erratic. Instead, they moved similar to clouds, slowly descending. Despite this, they looked nothing like clouds, instead reminding Sunset of the fire that their colours matched.

As the orange smudges descended, Sunset saw that they were moving closer together. They treated each other like magnets. As two smudges closed in on each other, small orange tendrils protruded from them each one and on to the other, before they merged into one.

One by one the smudges joined together, creating one large fiery orange smudge that seemed to glow. And as it grew, it started to change shape, moving and shifting, becoming an image that was looking more and more familiar...

"No..." Sunset whispered.

Suddenly, the smudge began to glow. The light wasn't big, but it was certainly bright, blindingly so. But no matter how much it hurt Sunset's eyes, she couldn't look away. And before she could comprehend what was happening, the light began to shimmer.

Out stepped a cerise red leg, half covered in a pitch black boot with red edges at the top. Pulling forward, it revealed a red and yellow dress in the style of Sunset's hair. And as the light faded, revealing the creature in its entirety, she found herself looking upon cerise skin covering a monstrous female form. From its back were black and red wings covered in holes, and from under the dress, a red and yellow tail that featured a similar style to the dress was sticking out. On the head were fearsome white fangs, pointed ears, and a mop of red and yellow hair sticking up like fire. Upon the head sat a golden crown that was the element of magic, and underneath were pitch black eyes with Sunset's own opal green irises.

In short, Sunset had found herself face to face with the demon she had once become.

" _Hello Sunset._ " It snarled. Its voice was like three Sunset Shimmer's speaking at once. One furiously angry, one weeping, and one maniacally elated.

"Get out of my head." Sunset uttered, trying to sound determined, despite the fact that her heart was racing with fear. "I'm not scared of you!"

The demon chuckled at this. " _Of course you aren't, you have no reason to be. I am you after all._ "

Sunset stumbled back as she heard this. Partly because the very thought of that suggestion was horrifying, partly because she felt that there was truth in it. Especially since it had been true once.

But not anymore.

"I am nothing like you!"

The demon Sunset was now straight up cackling, which just made the human Sunset feel more and more nervous.

" _Keep telling yourself that. It doesn't change the truth. And the truth is that deep down, you just want to be the greatest and most powerful there is, like you were always meant to be. Nothing is going to change that, not some blast by the elements of harmony, not some band of friends, and certainly...not some love for the freak who took what should have been yours._ "

"Shut up!" Sunset shouted, turning around and running, only to find the red corridor leading into the darkness.

" _You **can't** go back Sunset. You know that._ "

Sunset found herself shaking, but she still managed to turn around and face the monster that stood before her.

"I have Twilight now. I have no reason to fear you."

The demon went back to howling with laughter. She took a few steps forward and glared at Sunset, the opal irises faintly glowing.

" _You think you can get rid of me by moving on to a relationship? You think that you can just get over it?_ " She laughed some more. " _Then tell me Sunset Shimmer, why am I still here?_ "

Sunset didn't want to listen. She wanted it all to end. She backed away, but the demon just walked closer and closer towards her.

"Y-Your...your not real..." It was just a manifestation of her problems that her mind had created, it had to be. But at the same time, there was something inside her that was telling her otherwise. "Are you?"

The demon smiled, baring shining white fangs. " _Time to find out..._ "

Before Sunset could react, the demon before her burst into flames, charging at her as her vision went black and she heard nothing but a roaring scream.

***

"Are you alright Sunset?"

Sunset jolted upright. "W-What?"

The music room was so quiet, she hadn't noticed that she was on the verge of falling asleep.

Fluttershy had a concerned look on her face. "You've been acting really sluggishly today. Did you have a bad night?"

It took a bit longer for her to process the question. "I'm fine...just nightmares..."

"What kind of nightmares?"

"I...dont really want to talk about it." Though she knew that Fluttershy meant well, she couldn't help but feel a bit bothered that her personal business was being invaded.

"Are you sure?" Fluttershy asked. "It's always better to talk to someone when it comes to mental things like dreams."

Sunset was now starting to feel irritated. "Look, just...I don't need your help."

"But isn't that what friends do..."

"I SAID I DONT NEED YOUR HELP!"

Sunset's sudden outburst was followed by a few seconds of silence. Fluttershy stared at Sunset in shock, and Sunset slowly realised what she'd just done.

"Fluttershy...I'm...I'm really sorry..."

Fluttershy continued to stare at Sunset with a look of shock and fear while her body shuddered. Sunset couldn't believe what she had done. She could never even imagine shouting at Fluttershy, but she suddenly had a huge burst of anger. She didn't even know why. It just...came out of nowhere.

"It's...it's fine Sunset." Fluttershy, though she was still shuddering. "I guess I should have just minded my own business."

"No Fluttershy..." Sunset insisted, continuing to feel guilt and disbelief of what she'd done. "That outburst was my fault. I...think I lost more sleep than I thought."

Though Fluttershy had stopped shuddering, she looked at the floor, and Sunset couldn't tell if it was in shyness or fear, but either way it just made her worse for what she did.

"I think we should get to class now..." Fluttershy mumbled.

Sunset checked the clock. Classes didn't start for a few minutes, but after what just happened, it was probably best if they split up for the time being.

And it just so happened that their separate classes were in opposite directions of the hallway. After one last apology, the two girls parted, as Fluttershy headed for geography and Sunset for history.

Walking down the halls, Sunset thought about the way she shouted at Fluttershy, and was still shocked at the fact that she had done such a thing. Even in her...less morale days, she had never shouted at Fluttershy. She'd mess with her and say some really horrible insults to her, but succumbing to anger was never her style.

But the weirdest thing was the sudden appearance of the anger that fuelled the outburst. Before Fluttershy had started talking, Sunset was nothing but tired. And then there was just this...sudden build up of rage that she couldn't explain.

"Oh, Sunset Shimmer!"

Sunset found herself knocked out of her think state and looking at Principal Celestia standing at the door of the computer lab.

"Uh...yes Principal Celestia?"

Celestia turned around and picked up a large pile of papers from a desk behind her.

"I need to get these papers to Vice-Principal Luna, but I've got my hands tied at the moment. If it isn't too much, would you mind delivering them to her for me? I believe you have history next, and the Vice Principals office is located on the way there."

Sunset felt herself shake a bit as the agitation that she had been feeling in the music room suddenly returned to her. Upon realising what was happening, she took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"Sure. No problem."

"Thank you Sunset." Celestia responded, handing the papers over to her, before rushing back into the lab.

As Sunset walked away, her thoughts returned to her sudden surges of rage. Particularly the one that just happened to her.

' _Why is happening to me?_ ' She thought. ' _She was just asking me to deliver something, why would I get so angry over that?_ '

' _Because that lazy bitch can't bother to get things done herself!_ '

Sunset stopped in her tracks.

What was that?!

The noise of all the students around her getting ready for class was too distracting for her to completely focus on fully remembering what just happened, especially with how tired she was feeling.

But for a second, she thought she heard...

' _I guess I'm more tired than I originally thought._ '

A few moments later, she arrived at the door of Vice-Principal Luna. She knocked on the door, which was followed by Luna's voice permitting her to come in.

"Principal Celestia wanted me to deliver these papers to you." Sunset said as she entered the office.

"Ah yes, I've been expecting those." Luna responded. The Vice-Principal's office was dark as always, the only light originating from the open door behind Sunset, the computer screen that Luna was using, and the small remnants of sunlight peeping through the blinds.

"So...where do these go?" Sunset asked, holding up the papers.

"On my desk please."

Sunset walked over to Luna's desk and placed the pile next to the computer. "I don't really get why I had to deliver these. I mean, your office is only like a minute walk from the where she was."

"You would be surprised how busy Celestia can be." Luna said, keeping her focus on her computer. "And when it comes to work, my sister doesn't let any thing get in her way."

There was something odd about that last part.

"She doesn't let...anything...get in her way?" Sunset asked.

The Vice-Principal took her hands off the mouse and looked at Sunset. "You wouldn't believe the kind of things Celestia has sacrificed for her career."

"What kind of things?" Sunset enquired. It was probably rude of her to ask questions regarding the Principals personal life, but when it came to Celestia, Sunset always wanted to know more.

"For starters, I've lost count of how many relationships she has been in. None of them ever lasted long. She was always too busy. And then there was the baby."

It took a moment for that last word to sink in. What did Celestia have to do with a baby?

"What baby?" Sunset asked.

"A few years ago...about two decades I think it was, it appeared that one of my sisters failed relationships accomplished a bit more than the others had, as Celestia found herself pregnant."

Sunset was now a lot more woken up than she had been a few seconds ago. Celestia had been pregnant? When was this? The Celestia in Equestria never had any children. At least...none that anyone knew of.

Luna continued with her story. "I was there as she gave birth. Not a pleasant place to be in, but we were family, and I had to be there for her. The baby itself was...quite honestly one of the most beautiful things I can remember. Amber skin. Opal eyes..."

Luna stopped for a second, gazing at Sunset. "She looked a lot like you actually."

Sunset was still coming to grips with the fact that Celestia had given birth to a child. How had she never heard of this. Did the child not have a counterpart in Equestria? Was it even possible for a human to not have an Equestrian counterpart?

"Sadly..." Luna sighed. "Being single and being dedicated to the career of education meant that Celestia couldn't take care of the baby. Before it was even born, she decided to have her sent to foster care in Europe. Neither of us have seen or heard from her since then."

' _Good riddance. We don't need another of her kind around._ '

Sunset froze. There it was again. In the quietness of Luna's office, she could clearly hear it. A voice.

And it appeared that she had a much more physical reaction to it, as Vice-Pincipal Luna narrowed her eyebrows.

"Are you alright Sunset?" She asked.

"Im fine." Sunset insisted. "I'd better get to class. It was nice talking to you Vice-Principal Luna."

Once she closed the door behind her, she found herself in an empty hallway. Alone with her thoughts.

' _Whats happening to me?_ '

Back in Luna's office, with little sound to distract her, she had heard it clearly.

The voice of the demon from her dream.

***

"Fluttershy!" Sunset called as she ran down the hall.

Fluttershy stopped walking and turned around as Sunset caught up with her.

"Yes Sunset?" She asked.

"Fluttershy, I'm really sorry for what happened back in the music room. I just got a bit too worked up over nothing. I just want us to get passed that."

Fluttershy put her hand on Sunset's shoulder. "Its fine. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash have had plenty of moments where they got really angry at me. People will have their moments of strong emotions, and there's nothing we can do to change that."

Sunset gave Fluttershy a small hug. "Thank you. I'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again."

They both left the school together, and said goodbye as Sunset boarded her bus.

Although her mood was lifted by Fluttershy accepting her apology, nothing could stop the concern and fear she was feeling at the moment.

She had heard the voice of her demon self in her own mind. The dreams were one thing, she could see that demon as a mental projection of her own inner struggles. But this was different. It was as if the demon was its own separate entity. Was that even possible?

Or maybe it was just her lack of sleep. If she heard that voice in her dreams, it would make sense if she could hear it when she was tired.

Either way, she was really tired, and she needed her sleep.

Eventually, the bus reached its destination, and Sunset went straight from the bus to her room. She changed from her day outfit into her pyjamas, and went into the bathroom to get her teeth brushed. It was really early to get ready for bed, but she was feeling more tired than she usually did at bedtimes anyway.

Once she was ready, she left the bathroom and entered her room again.

And found Discord lying in her bed, reading a book.

"Ah, Sunset Shimmer." He greeted her, removing the reading glasses from his face. "Good to see you."

"Haven't you gone back to Equestria already!" She shouted at him, in spite of her sleepiness.

In a white flash he was out of her bed and sitting on top of it. " _Pfft_. Why would I do that? Nothings really happening in Equestria at the moment, besides some civil conflict going on in the Griffon Kingdom. Oh, and the cyborg ninja mice from space that intend on invading, but that'll probably solve itself. Here, I have centuries of knowledge and pop culture to check out."

One white flash later and he was wearing black clothes, his horns replaced with long black hair.

"You are tearing me apart Lisa!"

In another white flash he became a large round hairy man with brown robes and a lantern.

"You're a wizard harry."

In a third white flash he was sporting an afro, a horseshoe mustache, and a white and black suit and tie, in his hand he brandished a gun.

"Does he look like a bitch?!"

And in a final white flash he was in his normal form.

"Humans are just so creative!"

Sunset just groaned. "Discord, I need to get to sleep. Why are you here?"

"Well, first of all, I wanted to congratulate you on your new relationship with Twilight Sparkle." He said with a grin.

Sunset's eyes shot open. "How...how did you know..."

"Oh please Sunset, you know me. You should never be surprised to learn where I've been."

Sunset looked back on the moment when she and Twilight kissed for the second time, confirming their relationship. She realised that they had been sitting on a **grey** bench.

"That was a private moment you jackass!" She yelled at him in anger.

Discord frowned. "Sheesh. Rude much. I do have to say though, it was extremely enjoyable to watch."

One white flash later and he was standing next to Sunset. His hands were covered by two sock puppets with googly eyes. One was lavender and wearing a little Twilight wig, the other was amber with a little Sunset wig.

"Oh Twilight." Said the Sunset sock puppet in the high pitched sound of a masculine voice trying to imitate a girl's voice. "I love you more than words can describe."

"But Sunset!" Squeaked the Twilight puppet in a similar voice. "It can never be, as a princess, I must have the favour of the aristocrats."

"Blah, blah, blah, your issues, DO YOU WANT ME!"

"More than anything!"

"Oh Twilight!"

"Oh Sunset!"

Discord than rubbed the sock puppets faces together as he made kissy kissy noises.

"Such romance! Such drama! So engaging!"

"And I'd prefer to keep it between me, you and Twilight thank you very much." Said Sunset. "Well, in full honesty I'd rather just keep it between me and Twilight, but it looks like that opportunities gone. Now would you please leave, I need to get some sleep."

"Oh yes." Discord replied. "You've been having bad nightmares I believe."

Now Sunset was just plain baffled.

"Is there anything you don't know?!"

Discord tapped his chin as he pondered. "Well for one, I don't know who wrote the journals in _Gravity Falls_. But what I know and don't know isn't important. Whats important is that there has to be more to these nightmares of yours than meets the eye."

There was a white flash that consumed not only Discord, but the entire room. Once the light faded, Sunset found herself in a similar situation to when she'd last seen Discord, with both of them sitting down as Discord was dressed in his psychologist outfit and holding a clipboard and pencil.

"Now Sunset." Said Discord. "I'd like you to tell me in good detail about your nightmares."

Sunset moaned. She just wanted to go to sleep. But this whole situation with the demon could be a serious problem, and Discord was probably the best option she had right now for help.

So she sat up straight and told him everything. The red corridor, the room, the crown, the demon she encountered, the outbursts of rage, and the voice she had been hearing in her head. All the while Discord scribbled on his clipboard.

Once she was finished, Sunset slumped in her chair. "So what do you think."

Discord looked carefully at his clipboard. "Hmm...I think this panda drawing could have been a lot better." He turned his clipboard around to reveal the squiggly doodle of a panda before throwing it away. "As for the nightmares, I think it might have something to do with the element of magic."

"What do you mean?"

"Simple, you took the element of harmony into this world, cutting off its connection to the magic of Equestria. This made it rely on its own reservoirs of pure magic, converting it into a more raw magical state, meaning it couldn't work with the other elements but also meaning it could bond with anything, and not just someone who represented the element."

"I know that Discord, that was my plan last year."

"Let me finish. At the time when you put the crown on, you could certainly be defined as evil. So when the crown bonded to you, the element itself became corrupted with evil magic and energy. When it returned to Twilight Sparkle it reverted back to good, and back to its original state of magic once it returned to Equestria. But I believe that some of the evil energy stayed with you, its host. That raw magic merged with a part of yourself, effectively creating something of a separate entity within you. In simpler terms, the evil within you now has a mind of its own."

"Well how do I get rid of it?!"

"Sunset, you can't get rid of this demon any more than you can get rid of a part of yourself. Im afraid this is more or less permanent."

Sunset's buried her face in her hands. She wasn't crying or anything, but she was feeling serious distress at the moment.

"Its not as bad as it sounds Sunset. This demon inside shouldn't have a thirtieth of your inner strength. She can't go so far as to possess you or anything, just feed your inner rage and occasionally manage to communicate with you, but only in cases where you are consumed by negative emotions, or like today, where you were too tired to hold her back."

"So as long as I remain positive, and get plenty of sleep, Im fine."

"Exactly." He responded with a smile.

"But what about the nightmares? How do I stop those?"

"That Im not as sure about. The nightmares are likely fuelled by some kind of doubt or guilt regarding your past, and Im not so sure how you can fix that."

It wasn't the best help, but it was something. "Thanks anyway Discord."

"No problem." At the snap of his fingers there was another white flash. Sunset found that she was no longer sitting in a chair,but tucked into her bed. In front of her she saw Discord standing near the foot of her bed.

"Now get some sleep Sunset, that should keep your head demon free."

As Discord left in a final white flash, Sunset felt her eyelids lower as she drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this new plot development was made up on the spot. Despite this, it has quite the major impact on the rest of the story, for better and for worse. Can't tell if I really regret it, but I do at least feel like cringing at my past self for taking such going for such a dumb, tropey route. Overall, as I read through this story for the purpose of this website transfer I find myself thinking "Dear God, I WROTE this?!". Still glad for it's existance though.


	14. The Griffon Kingdom-Twlight Sparkle

"Are you sure there ain't any way we can come along with you?" Applejack asked.

"I already told you Applejack, the griffon princesses want to see the Equestrian Princesses and only the Equestrian princess's." Replied Twilight. "You're all allowed in the Griffon Kingdom itself, but you won't be going within a mile of the royal palace. I'm sorry, but if the Griffon monarchs are giving us orders in their own kingdom we have no choice but to go along with them."

"I really don't see why we can't go along." Said Rarity, who was in the process of filing her hooves. "I mean we [i]are[/i] your council after all. It doesn't really make much sense."

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Trust me Rarity, when you spend enough time with Griffons, you come to expect this sort of behavior."

Twilight sighed as she looked over the rails, watching the small waves crash against the side of the ship. "I still wish that you could all come with me, I don't think I'm ready to tackle overseas politics just yet. Especially considering what I've heard about these princesses."

"You'll be fine darling." Rarity insisted. "You always manage to overcome the really important obstacles when you have to."

"Yeah, but in all those cases we all managed to pull through by hitting a big bad guy with a magic rainbow. Now I have to convince two arguing monarchs not to start a civil war."

"That does sound pretty intimidating." Fluttershy agreed in her usual quiet voice.

"Yeah...no offense Fluttershy, but everything's intimidating to you." Said Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity responded, raising her voice. "Leave the poor girl alone."

"Hey, I said no offense!" Rainbow Dash complained.

"And how does that make it any better?" Applejack asked, her voice retaining normal volume but clearly expressing annoyance.

"Oh come on..."

As her friends descended into their argument, Twilight continued to look off into the distant sea, the morning sun spreading streaks of yellow across the water. It didn't matter how hard her friends tried to support her. The only thing they could do to really help was actually being there, and as stated earlier that wasn't going to happen. 

Rarity was right at least in saying that Twilight had always managed overcome the serious challenges. But that wasn't the whole truth. She never would have restored Princess Luna if it weren't for the others, she never would have defeated Discord if it weren't for Celestia, she never have retrieved the crystal heart if it weren't for Spike and Cadance. And it was Cadance and Shining armour who defeated Chrysalis, and while Twilight did save Cadance from the crystal caverns, that didn't change the fact that Twilight and her friends ended up completely useless in the captivity of the Changelings.

And the more she thought about how useless she could be in this situation, the more worried she started to feel.

Scratch that. She was feeling more scared than worried.

If she didn't manage to convince the Griffon princesses to settle things out, the situation in the kingdom could get even worse, to the point of a full on civil war. And in the worse case scenario, Equestria could get involved as well. The chaos and conflict that could arise if Twilight and the Princesses failed was almost too unpleasant to think of.

Twilight continued to gaze at the light that the sun reflected across the sea. The orange and yellow light spread across the opal green water reminded Twilight of Sunset. Which, as nice as it was, wasn't really helping.

It was bad enough to have to wait five days to see Sunset again before. But now, with everything that had happened in the past few days...it just felt wrong in a way. And with all the politics Twilight had to deal with, could really use Sunset's comforting presence at this time.

And it probably would have been better if she wasn't still taking in what Luna had told her the other day...

As Twilight stared further at the water, a sudden gust of wind hit her as an orange shape appeared from under the view of the deck.

"Morning Princess!" Flash called while he flew along side the ship.

"Oh, good morning Flash." She responded. "How are you?"

"I'm just on a morning flight." He did a 360 degree twirl in the air. "Thought my wings could use a stretch, and getting some excercise done is always good on the body. Well...unless you're doing it like...five hours everyday, then it results in horrendous injury."

"Cardio vascular atrial fibrillation, aching quadriceps, depression, and insomnia." Twilight stated.

"You forgot to mention the weakened immune system." Flash corrected, before gliding over the rails and landing beside Twilight.

She smiled. "Looks like someones been doing their homework."

Flash raised is tail high in the air as he stretched his front legs forward, his spine curving and his wings spreading out. It was a stretch Twilight had seen Rainbow Dash do plenty of times.

"Back at camp, I had a bit of a rivalry with this other pegasus cadet. Tried to impress our drill sergeant by doing more push ups than we were instructed to do at the end of an afternoon training session, but this one look he gave me said he was also trying to make me look like a chump. So, to show him who was boss, I was doing push ups till nightfall. I ended up so sick that it was a week before I was back in training. Not a fun experiance, but the look on the his face when he found me still doing push ups that night was more than worth it."

"I'm guessing your place in the Canterlot Royal guard is what gives you the need to excercise?" Twilight presumed.

"You betcha." He answered, before stretching his hind legs out one at a time and finally standing up straight. "The waves of mares swooning over your muscles is also a decent perk."

Twilight chuckled. She was finding it a lot easier to talk to Flash when Sunset wasn't present. It was nice. Though she was still wondering whether or not to really try and befriend him with the possibility of making her relationship with Sunset...problematic.

Speaking of who...

"You seemed to recognise Sunset when we saw you at the Canterlot castle the other day." Twilight recalled. "How's that?"

"Oh yeah, Sunny and me go way back. My mom was in the ESL too, in fact she was in the same squad as her dad, who became good friends with my parents. Unfortunately she was killed in the same ambush that took Sunny's dad."

Twilight was taken by surprise with that last part. "I'm really sorry to hear that."

"Don't be." Flash insisted. "I'm sure she was a nice mare and all, but I was too young to really remember her. My dad eventually remarried. Nice unicorn named Aurora Nightlight. She's been all the mother I've needed. Back to the previous topic, the friendship between my parents and Sunny's dad was what lead to me and Sunset meeting. We were friends in school, and mostly kept in contact when she ended up as Celestia's student. Hadn't seen her since she first left Equestria."

"Are you bothered by what you might have heard about her?"

"What, with the whole plot to take over Equestria and all that? Meh, I was a bit disturbed to hear it, but she seems to be over it by now. Doesn't stop me from keeping alert though..."

He was interrupted by the appearance of a fully armoured pegasus guard from inside the ship.

"Captain Flash Sentry!" He called, saluting. "Its time to brief the troops on their positioning!"

"I'll be right there!" He answered, before facing Twilight again. "Duty calls, princess. It was nice talking to you."

And with that, he followed the other guards into the interior before closing the door behind him.

Twilight spent the next few seconds just standing on the deck, staring at the door that Flash had left through, and further pondering if it would be a good idea to pursue a friendship with him. Sunset was fully aware about how she used to feel about the human Flash, and Sunset herself had once dated him. There was also the fact that the human Flash clearly had a thing for Twilight once as well, and if it was a similar case with the pegasus...well...trying to keep her relationship with Sunset a secret would be hard enough without a stallion trying to win her heart over. Especially one that would be [b]living[/b] with her now.

She then realized that the deck had gone awfully quite. Hadn't the girls been arguing just a minute ago.

Suddenly, she felt a hoof go over her wings as Rarity appeared from behind her.

"You know Twilight, you [b]are[/b] a princess." She said with a playful smile. "If you like Flash Sentry so much I don't believe he would reject you."

Twilight snorted in slight annoyance. Not [i]this[/i] again.

"Rarity's got a point Twi." Applejack joined in. "Its hard to find a man with such a caring personality and amazing muscular physique as him."

"Girls, we've been over this." Twilight insisted. "I like Flash. He's a nice guy. But I have absolutely no interest in dating him."

"Oh Twilight." Rarity responded. "Your denial over your feelings for him are almost adorable as your infatuation with him."

Wow, they really thought she was into Flash Sentry, while completely oblivious to the truth.

Twilight burst into laughter.

"So this is apparently funny to you, is it?" Rarity said, still smiling.

"You...you really think I'm into Flash?"

"It's pretty darn obvious if ya ask me." Answered Applejack.

Oh, if only they knew.

"Unless you're suggesting Twilight, that you have eyes for another stallion?" Rarity wondered.

"Or mare." Pinkie quickly stated after suddenly appearing from behind Rarity.

"Or...mare." Rarity continued, with a facial expression that was either annoyed or distasteful. "Though I don't really think Twilight is...that kind of mare."

"Sheesh. Homophobe much." Pinkie muttered before disappearing.

"Rarity, I can assure you, I don't have a crush on any guy and I don't intend on having one for a while. The day may come when I do, but that day isn't here."

"Well, I'm convinced." Said Applejack.

"I'm not." Rarity uttered as she walked away. "I know an infatuated mare when I see one, and I see one when I look at you Twilight."

Probably attempting to make her words seem more powerful, Rarity curved around the corner and was gone.

"That was sure dramatic." Applejack said before turning to face Twilight. "You don't need to worry Twi, that was immature of me to join in on Rarity's little love game, and I don't intend on doing it again. I may be your friend, but its still your personal life."

"Thanks Applejack." Twilight replied. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like some time to myself."

"Sure thing Sugarcube."

Once Applejack had gone back to rejoin the others, Twilight walked back over to the rail, and looked out to sea once again. 

Something felt horribly wrong about the conversation that she had just had, and it was probably the fact that she had lied to their faces. Well, maybe she didn't straight up lie, but that didn't mean she wasn't being dishonest with them. She had denied the thought that she was in love with anyone to them, when the truth was something else entirely. And the fact that she was keeping a secret this big from her deepest and closest friends, who had been there for her since she had moved to Ponyville, who she had fought evil and saved equestria with, it just felt so wrong. How long could she do it?

And how long could she and Sunset keep the secret up?

***

Of all the places in Equestria and beyond that Twilight had been to, the Griffon capitol of Poulígatá was certainly one of the most interesting.

It was like some strange mix of Canterlot, Manehatten, and Cloudsdale, though it was definitely more reminiscent of the latter, which was to be expected considering the similar nature of Griffons and Pegasi. The docks that they had landed at were nothing spectacular, just your average large wooden beams holding up walkways made up of large planks of wood, all held together with strong bolts of bronze.

But beyond the docks, Twilight gazed upon buildings the size of those in Manehattan, along with the square and cylindrical shapes of that city. What differed it from Manehattan though were the abundance of flat and spherical roofs, decor of strange twirly shapes like wisps of steam, and buildings with ground floors that had no outside walls but beautiful columns keeping everything up. And that was only the first [b]level[/b] of the city. Above the ground building were great conifer trees, quite possibly some of the largest that Twilight had ever seen. While some of them grew among the streets of the city, others grew right out of some of the buildings. Most, if not all of the trees were covered in buildings, predominantly made of wood, connected by stairs, walkways, balconies and bridges. But that wasn't all either, the city actually went higher than that, for above even the trees were large thick clouds carrying buildings similar to the ones on the ground, though with design and architecture more similar to cloudsdale. These clouds and buildings upon them could be found above the trees, beside the trees, and even only slightly above ground. But the most incredible thing about Poulígatá was just how connected everything was. From building to building were bridges ranging from small to huge, from tree to tree were roped bridges and even some zip lines. There were even bridges, stairs and walkways that connected ground building to tree buildings, tree buildings to cloud buildings, and cloud buildings to ground building. A notable site was a large beige domed building with a gigantic conifer tree growing out from the centre, covered in so many buildings it was like a big wooden skyscraper. It broke through a large cloud, where the building spread outward, making the top actually bigger than the midsection. In Canterlot such a building would surely end in destructive disaster, but it seemed like Griffon architects could work miracles.

" _OOOOOOOOOH!_ Look at that!" Said Pinkie as she pointed at a building with a giant statue of a nesting Griffon atop the roof.

"Gorgeous! Absolutely stunning!" Rarity proclaimed as she got a closer look at the decor of the nearby buildings once they had left the docking walkway.

"I've never seen such an abundance of plant life in such a big city before." Fluttershy commented quietly yet happily.

It was strange to think that such a beautiful place was apparently the heart of such civil unrest.

The Guards guided them to the road as all around Twilight her friends commented on the beauty of the city before them. All Twilight could think about was the city ablaze, countless bodies strewn throughout the street as two sides tore each other apart, rivers of blood pouring into the sea as...

"Twilight, are you fantasizing about a horrible worst case scenario again?" Pinkie suddenly asked.

"What?" Twilight replied, shaking her head a bit.

"You have that look on your face. Y'know, when your all like..." Pinkie's face twisted into a fearful expression, her teeth gritting and her eyes twitching. " _Oh, Celestia shalt banish us to the depths of hellish Tartarus, where the souls of vanquished demons from bloody wars long past will feast upon our innocence. OH, woe is I!_ "

"I guess I'm still a bit...nervous. I'm not exactly here for a vacation."

"You don't need to be nervous Twilight." Rainbow Dash cut in. "Even if we can't come with you to the actual conference, there's no way you'll be traveling this city alone."

The corner of Twilight's mouth rose in a slight smile. Rainbow Dash was right. Though they wouldn't be able to be there for her when it was most important, they could certainly stand by her side for everything else.

The Guards brought them to a small chariot reigned to two other Guards. The chariot itself was the typical royal kind, painted purple with red cushions in the seat, along with the usual gold decor. The design seemed to be modeled a bit more after Twilight in particular, as the seats had golden models of her cutie mark imprinted into them along with white and pink borders that mirrored the white and pink highlights in Twilights hair.

She also noticed that it didn't look much bigger than a one seater.

"Princess Twilight." One of the Guards said in a very authoritative voice. "Our orders are to escort you directly to the palace of the Griffon Princesses for the first formal meeting."

"Really? I figured we could just arrive at the hotel first and just...I don't know...settle in a bit." Twilight pointed her hoof at Spike, who was panting from carrying the six large suitcases topped with a very small one.

"This was a direct request from the Griffon Princesses themselves, and Princess Celestia has ordered that any order or request from the Griffon Princesses must be treated like a direct order from herself."

"Am I allowed to take my friends with me?" She asked, looking at the small carriage and doubting that everyone could fit on it. "I get that they can't come with me on the conference but..."

"I'm afraid not Princess. The Griffon Princesses have issued a strict order that no one that isn't on official business is not permitted within the place gates."

"These mares are my council. They're as much on official business as I am."

Suddenly, Flash Sentry landed beside the Guard along with another.

"I'm sorry Princess." He said. "That's not up to us. Rain Shaker here will personally escort your friends to their hotel, where you can rejoin them in a few hours."

Twilight sighed. "I guess as long as I am on Griffon soil I'll have to obey the Princess's command." She turned to her friends. "I'm sorry girls."

"No need to be, Twilight." Rainbow Dash insisted. "There isn't anything you can really do."

"Have a safe trip." Twilight hoped.

"You too." Applejack replied as she hugged her, before the others joined in on the hug.

After watching her friends leave with the Guard that Flash had instructed to escort them, the other Guards beckoned Twilight on to the chariot. After making herself comfortable, the two Guards that the chariot was reigned to galloped at a steady pace into the streets. Aside from the two in front of her, there was one guard at each side, two behind her, and two flying above her, one of them being Flash, who flew down closer to her with a satchel in his hoof.

"Excuse me Princess,but Princess Celestia asked me to give this to you for the journey." He said, giving her the satchel.

"What?" Twilight wondered, opening it to find her crown inside.

"She figured that wearing the crown would offer moral support to the people. Even here the common folk do tend to look up to royalty."

Twilight stared at the crown for a second before placing it on her head. "Thanks."

Flash flew up until he was level with the other flying guard.

Given the space that Twilight had on the chariot, she got a good view of her surroundings. The positive side to this was that she saw plenty of guards surrounding her, which, while a little uncomfortable, certainly made her feel safe. The negative side to this was that she got a good view of the inner city.

From the view of the dock, Poulígatá looked beautiful. Free from any conflicts and turmoils. But now that the dock was far behind her, and she was within the Griffon streets, she saw exactly what this conflict between the princess was causing. At first she saw a single building with a broken door, cracks on the walls, and windows that were either smashed, boarded up, or both. This wasn't too intimidating a site, there were plenty of these buildings in Manehattan, and possibly even one or two in the poorer parts of Canterlot. It could have just been very old or underused.

But further on, she began to spot more buildings in similar, even worse shape. It was especially noticeable since they were so close to other buildings in perfectly fine condition. One of the ruined buildings she passed had the words _We're already at war!_ painted in large red letters over the walls.

But the buildings were just the start. While passing a run down building that looked like an apartment, she saw a male Griffon wrapped in a ragged cloak sitting on the doorstep. In an alleyway, she saw a female Griffon with several missing feathers lying on a broken mattress, holding a young cub close to her. And at the roots of one the large conifer trees lay a Griffon covered in dirt, scratches and bruises. He wasn't moving.

An indescribably unpleasant feeling built up in Twilight's stomach. Not just in the horror of what she was seeing, but in the guilt she felt at seeing all these people suffering in the streets while she was sat in a comfortable chariot with soft cushions and decor of solid gold, surrounded by eight Guards and with a beautiful crown on her head.

To her left, she saw a Griffon couple digging through a trash can. To her right, she saw a Griffon dressed in armour dragging another Griffon with a bleeding scratch on his face into a large black carriage with barred windows, while another armoured Griffon held back two crying cubs.

"The Griffon Princesses get more paranoid by the day." Flash explained from above. "They use the influence they have over whatever divisions of Griffon military have anyone doing anything remotely suspicious arrested, thrown into the streets or worse."

"Extra! Extra!" Called a young Griffon holding a newspaper in her claws with a pile of other newspapers beside her. "Bankers perish in a fire! Foul play suspected!"

' _If I hadn't been with Sunset..._ ' She thought. ' _If I was here last week, none of this might be happening..._ '

She closed her eyes and lowered her head, her mind consumed by this thought. How many people were going hungry, because the Griffon Princesses refused to talk to anyone but every Equestrian Princess at once? How many people were on the streets, because she wasn't there to make it happen? How many people were dying, because she had let her feelings for Sunset get in the way of her duties as Princess?

On the verge of tears, everything went quiet for Twilight.

And that was when she heard it.

Her eyes flung open as her head turned, her horn glowing magenta as she caught an object moving so fast it was a miracle she caught it at all.

An arrow. Inches from her face.

One of the guards beside her caught site of it as his eyes widened. "Men! Defensive formation!"

Within a second the eight guards formed a ring around the chariot. Four Pegasi and four unicorns. Suddenly, several more arrows were shot from the rooftops, flying straight towards Twilight. Each of the unicorn guards managed to catch an arrow each with their magic, missing only one which Twilight herself deflected with a shield.

The Guards scanned the roofs and spotted six Griffons reloading crossbows, one of them finishing up before aiming at Twilight again. Right before he could fire, he was hit by a blue electrical stun spell shot by one of the Guards. He dropped his crossbow while spasming, right before he fell off the roof and fell past several floors before hitting the ground in a sickening thud.

Every Guard with a horn sticking through their helmet shot magical projectiles at the attackers, ranging from stun spells to ice spells to simple force shot spells. Within seconds every Griffon had been hit, resulting in a moment of silence.

Right before a loud bird screech split through the street.

From the rooftops appeared another Griffon, followed by yet another, before they saw multiple Griffons above them. And from the alleyways appeared even more. They were surrounded, by twenty Griffons at the least.

"Engage!" Flash shouted, quickly turning to one of the unicorns. "Aegis, Shield protocol one, now!"

"Yes sir!" He answered.

Twilight suddenly found herself covered in a yellow bubble like forcefield as the Guard's horn began to glow.

"What are you doing?!" She asked loudly, but he did nothing but stand still and stare at her.

She looked around and saw the other Guards take on the Griffons. Flash charged headfirst into the attackers, hitting one hard in the face with his front hooves, right before another one jumped on him from behind and pinned him to the ground, before several others ganged up on the pegasus, covering him in their bodies.

Turning around she saw another pegasus guard desperately trying to fend off three Griffons warriors, before one of them was hit by a magical blast, allowing him to take out the other two. The unicorn Guard that had fired the shot then managed to take out multiple Griffons on the roof, before he was suddenly pierced right above the cutie mark by an arrow. He let out a scream of pain and fell to the ground, blood oozing from the wound as he desperately tried to get up.

"Let me out!" Twilight shouted at the Guard that was surrounding her with the shield, banging on the forcefield as she did. "You need help!"

But he just stood there, still as a statue. Behind him, Twilight saw another pegasus Guard beat a Griffon into the ground before another one flew down, scratching him across the back. He winced and stumbled for a second, then tried to fly after the Griffon, but fell to the ground as his wing went red.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle! I went up against countless changelings! Fought Tirek to a standstill! I'm an alicorn for Pete's sake! Now turn this shield off! I command you!"

She still received nothing but a blank stare.

Four Griffons flew straight at one of the unicorn Guards, who surrounded himself in his own bubble shield. While every strike they made against it did nothing, he clearly had no idea on what to do.

Twilight tried to take matters into her own hooves and hit the forcefield with a shield breaking spell. After this did nothing she tried a different one, which also failed. This Guard had clearly trained to master shield spells. It was likely that any spell that she could break it with would be too dangerous to use in such an enclosed space.

After she decided that her attempts at breaking the shield were futile, she spotted a Griffon charging right for the Guard shielding her.

"Look out!" Twilight yelled at him.

A gold and cobalt streak suddenly slammed into the Griffon, knocking him to the ground. The streak revealed itself to be Flash, who gave the Griffon a quick jab to the neck, which made him go limp. Twilight looked at the spot where Flash had been pinned down, only to find a pile of unconscious Griffons. 

"Alright boys!" He called. "Let's show these chickens how ponies can deliver a hurting!"

Flash charged at the Griffons that surrounded the shielded unicorn, sidestepping right to dodge an arrow as he ran. Upon reaching the shield he slammed his armoured body against one Griffon, crushing them against the forcefield. The other three Griffons trying to break through it then focused on him. He quickly spun around, slamming his hind hooves into the closest Griffon's beak, then somersaulting as he hit another Griffon on the head with a downward kick. As the last Griffon ran towards him, he picked up one of the fallen Griffons and whacked it against the one charging at him.

With the Griffons surrounding him down, the unicorn Guard lowered the shield surround him and started firing at the attackers on the rooftops. As for Flash, he ran over to assist another unicorn Guard that was using an energy weapon he had conjured to fight off a Griffon that was wearing homemade but effective armour.

As Flash sprinted, he quickly took off his helmet and threw it. The helmet flew through the air before hitting a Griffon in the head, knocking them out as the helmet ricocheted back into Flash's hooves.

As the other unicorn was backed against the wall by the armoured griffon, Flash hit it with a sweeping kick to the feet that knocked it off balance. As the Griffon tried to get up, the unicorn hit it in the face with a freeze spell that froze it onto the ground.

"Gadman, go help Knoedel!" He pointed at the Guard with an arrow in his flank.

Gadman gave a quick salute before running over to Knoedel. Looking around again, Twilight could see that her Guards had managed to turn the tides against the Griffons, all the attackers on the roofs had been taken down, and the Guards that weren't injured were finishing off the ground forces.

As for Flash, Twilight saw him going face to face with a very different sort of Griffon. It was clearly a female, dressed in navy coloured leathery armour. There was a strap across her chest displaying several knives, her claws covered in sharp metallic armour, and a short but thick cowl covered everything on her head above the eyes.

She dramatically slashed her claws in a display of skill that demonstrated Kóndôr Pálīs, a Griffon fighting style that Twilight had looked up a while back. The scary thing was that it was a fighting style created for the sole purpose of going up against pony fighting styles.

The Griffon warrior let out a piercing screech at Flash that echoed through the streets.

The corner of Flash's mouth twisted upwards in a side grin. "If thats bird call for '[i]Come and kick my ass[/i]' I'd be more than happy to oblige!"

She let out a quicker shriek before flying towards him. Flash then kicked himself off the ground and flew towards her. Both of them were flying towards each other at high velocity, and right before crashing, the Griffon slashed her claws out in a double arc. But as she did this, Flash suddenly dropped from the air and ran underneath her before spin kicking around and hitting her from behind. She grunted and crashed onto the pavement, but was quickly back on her feet. As Flash ran towards her she readied her claws once more. Before he could reach her she leapt forward, slashing rapidly. With tremendous speed and reflexes Flash dodged and blocked every strike. She brought both of her claws down on him at once, which would have fatally struck his neck had he not blocked the palms of her claws with his front hooves. Before she could react, he lifted his hind legs up and thrust them into her chest, knocking her backwards. Hard. Before she could get back up, Flash gave her a light kick right in the face, knocking her out cold like the rest of her comrades.

"And that's what you get for sucking!" Flash proclaimed with one hoof held triumphantly in the air.

As the yellow forcefield dissipated around her, Twilight gave another look at the area around her. The Guards that had been injured were being assisted by the others, and those who were unscathed were panting heavily, clearly out of breath. Around them, the street was littered with countless unconscious Griffons.

***

"We are so sorry for what happened during your journey Princess." Said Pidgeo, the Griffon royal family's butler. "We are truly ashamed that this happened within the streets of our fair city."

"I'm fine." Twilight insisted. "I spent the entire ordeal trapped in a bubble shield, though not out of my choice I have to say. Its my Guards that have to be apologised to. I'm not even sure if all of them are going to survive the wounds they received."

"Let us hope for the best. Now I hope you don't mind waiting for your first meeting with the Princesses. I am afraid that in spite of their differences, they do both have high tastes for good presentation."

The room that Twilight was waiting was quite nice looking, with spotless white walls and chocolate brown wooden beams all curving inwards to form a round ceiling. But as nice as it was, the situation that she was in and the fact that a large number of Griffons had just tried to kill her made the entire castle seem very intimidating.

The dark brown double doors then flung open as Flash walked inside. Getting a closer look at him, Twilight could see that he was covered in scratches and bruises while parts of his armour were dented. Pidgeo clearly wasn't fond of this site, stepping back and grimacing.

"Perhaps I should go and see when the Princesses will be ready." He said, quickly leaving the room out one of the other doors.

"How are the other Guards?" Twilight asked.

"They'll be fine." Answered Flash, checking out the damage his helmet took. "Knoedel took an arrow in the flank, and Voxeltron and Stormie-Squall were scratched up pretty badly, but Gadman's a good healer, so they should all be fine."

"And you?"

"Oh, I'm fine. The scratches and bruises initially hurt bad, but I just needed the smallest of healing."

"Do you know why all those Griffons tried to...take me out?"

"From what we've gathered they're some kind of insurgency that had the intention of making sure you or any of the other Princesses don't end up letting the wrong Griffon Princess take the throne. Hopefully we can find out if either of the two Princesses was directly supporting them. An action like that would prevent them from ever taking the throne, and all this political crap would be over."

"Hopefully I can end it all myself." Twilight then remembered how Flash had fended off all those Griffons and taken out the Kóndôr Pálīs fighter all by himself. "Those were some amazing fighting skills there. I don't think I've ever seen someone moving that fast. Well, in close range I mean. If you were the fastest pony I had ever seen you'd be faster than Rainbow Dash, but if you were faster than Rainbow Dash you would've accomplished a sonic rainboom, which you didn't, so..."

Flash chuckled. "Well if I couldn't beat all those Griffons than I'd make for a pretty crappy captain of the guard then wouldn't I?"

It was Twilight's turn to chuckle. Perhaps if Sunset wasn't happy with the idea of Flash protecting her, she could always bring this up as a point.

One of the double doors than creaked open to reveal Pidgeo.

"Excuse me Princess Twilight Sparkle, our Princesses will see you now."

Flash saw this as a good time to leave, walking out the doorway. "Good luck." He said to her, before the doors closed behind him.

Twilight let out a deep breath. Even if this wasn't the official conference, she would do her best to work something out between the Griffon Princesses. Everything that was going on out there, in Poulígatá and the rest of the Griffon Kingdom, it had to end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally written just under two months before the episode in which the canon depiction of the Griffon's homeland was shown. What unfortunate timing that was.
> 
> It's also one of my favourite's from this story, since I enjoyed deviating from the normal romance and drama and went into action and worldbuilding. Unfortunately, this kind of stuff doesn't pop up again. In fact the Griffon Kingdom plotline is more or less done now. I just wrote this chapter because my friend wanted me to explore the Griffon situation more because he found it interesting.
> 
> Not that it has any relevance here, but most of the Guard's names came from people who commented on the story on the original website. I REALLY appreciate comments.
> 
> Hint, hint.


	15. Feeling The Consequences-Sunset Shimmer

The world seemed to shake side to side as Sunset walked through the other side of the mirror. She stumbled forward, her legs tripping over each other before the portal's dazing effect wore off.

"Man, am I ever going to get used to that?"

The library gave off a peaceful atmosphere as always. The afternoon light shone through the green windows, reflecting across the blue and purple crystals. It was bright enough to give the room a dazzling shine without hurting the eyes. And with the relaxing silence hanging in the air, the whole atmosphere just felt beautiful.

But not as beautiful as the lavender mare who appeared from behind a bookcase.

"Sunset!" Twilight called quietly.

As Twilight came running towards her, Sunset's entire body seemed to lose mass as raw relief and happiness entered her. After five days of school and work, seeing Twilight again was like a drink of fresh water after a marathon in the desert.

And all that exploded into elation as Twilight wrapped her hooves around her in an affectionate hug.

Once Twilight stepped back, her front hooves still around Sunset's neck, Sunset leaned her head forward with the intention of showing Twilight's lips plenty of passion. But Twilight just leaned her own head backward and blocked Sunset's mouth with her hoof.

"Sorry, we're not alone right now." She whispered.

" _Mmmphmmph!_ " Sunset complained through the muffling hoof.

Twilight took her hoof off Sunset's muzzle. "So how was school?"

"Eh, it was school. Not much more to say." Replied Sunset, who was rubbing her mouth. As lovely as Twilight was, no pony's hooves were free of floor dirt. "So how exactly are we not alone? I'm guessing your new guards are stationed here?"

"A bit more than that." Twilight answered, turning around and walking, Sunset following behind her. "Celestia now considers this as one of the royal libraries. It's completely open to the public, as well as being first in line when receiving new books."

"Sounds like a dream come true for you. Now all we need is a danger room to practice magic and a big advanced scheduling office before you can no longer bring yourself to leave this place."

"Oh, ha ha..." Twi responded sarcastically.

When they got through the space between parallel bookcases and into the main part of the library, Sunset saw that there was indeed a guard posted at the library's entrance. Placed across the open floor were a few azure blue crystal tables with three crystal chairs of the same colour set around each one.

Sitting at one of these tables were two stallions. One looked surprisingly similar to Sunset herself, sporting a yellow and red curly mane as well as an amber coat. On his muzzle sat a pair of glasses as he read a common sized book. On the other side of the table sat another stallion with orange fur and a messy purple mane. He too was in the process of reading a book, only unlike the other stallion, this book was much larger, and he seemed to be a lot more into it.

"Sunset, this is Woomod and Angius." Twilight introduced as they approached their table. "Two stallions that are visiting from Trottingham."

"Good afternoon." Greeted the amber stallion with glasses, who Twilight has introduced as Woomod.

"Hi." Said Angius, the orange stallion. When he looked up from his book to Sunset, she saw that his eyes were incredibly bloodshot and his pupils had shrunk dramatically from normal size.

"Uh... whats up with you?" Sunset asked, trying not to sound rude.

"He's reading the third book in the _If She Were The Sun And Her The Moon_ series." Woomod answered. "Its pretty much the only reason he's even here. He's been reading it since yesterday evening, and he hasn't stopped."

"The tale of Red Rose and Blue Belle is like Celestia's gift to romance novels." Angius proclaimed. "Feather Flyer is the greatest writer to grace the soil of Equestria!"

"Whatever you say man." Said Woomod. "I personally think that series is just full of padding."

"You think everything's full of padding!"

"Hey, its not my fault that modern writers can't just get on with the plot."

"You can't get on with the plot!"

"I'm just gonna go back to reading."

"Me too! Red Rose forgot to take her medication and it is making for a much more entertaining experience than talking to you!"

As Angius thrust my face back into his book, Woomod turned to the two mares. "Sorry about him. I think he's just tired."

"No worries." Twilight insisted. "You just continue reading. I don't think anyone else will be visiting today anyway."

Once Woomod went back to his book, Sunset and Twilight headed for the entrance. As they passed through the doorway, the Guard gave them a salute.

"So how are you feeling about these guards?" Sunset asked.

"Honestly..." Twilight sighed. "I'm still trying to get used to it. It does seem to fit the castle as well as making it seem less lonely, but... theres just something uncomfortable about it."

"What, the highly trained armoured warriors whose duty is to keep you safe makes you feel uncomfortable?" Sunset questioned.

"Would you like to have a bunch of seemingly emotionless soldiers staring at you everywhere you go in the comfort of your own home?"

Before Sunset could respond to that, a sudden voice cut in.

"I didn't see much reason to complain back in the Griffon Kingdom."

From above them landed an orange pegasus in golden armour.

"Flash?!" Sunset yelped. What was he doing here?!

"Nice to see you again Sunny." He greeted her with a smirk.

Sunset narrowed her eyes at Twilight. "Um...why is he here?"

"Right..." Twilight started, looking a bit embarrassed. "I probably should have told you before you last left but, um... Flash is the captain of my guards."

Sunset had to register this for a moment. Flash Sentry, the same Flash Sentry that Twilight had clearly once developed feelings for in both the human and pony world, was now basically her bodyguard.

If Attack Of The Clones had taught her anything, it was that this would not end well for her.

Apparently Sunset's dislike of this was pretty evident, as Flash started speaking.

"Someones clearly unhappy." He stated.

"Sunset, its not that bad." Said Twilight. "He saved my life back in the Griffon Kingdom."

"He...WHAT?!"

Twilight bit her lip nervously. "Um...a few Griffon insurgents may have tried to kill me a few days ago."

"You just forgot to mention this?!"

"I didn't want to bring up something like that when you just got back."

Twilight was right of course, but wether it was because she learnt that Flash was now Twilight's guard or because she learned that Twilight had almost been assassinated, she was starting to feel angry.

"Look Sunny, you don't need to worry." Flash insisted. "Twilight was kept within a shield the entire time."

"Which is something I have to complain about." Uttered Twilight. "I wanted to help, but matter what I said, that guard wouldn't take the shield down."

"He was under direct orders from Celestia to keep you shielded in dangerous situations. Sorry if he didn't seem very compliant."

"Are you kidding me?!" Sunset shouted at him, the anger building inside her. "Twilight has saved Equestria more times than you've probably had to shave. Keeping her trapped in a shield probably put her in MORE DANGER!"

Flash raised an eyebrow at her. "Sheesh Sunset, calm down a bit..."

"How can you expect me to calm down when you're so incompetent at your job?!"

' _ **I could't agree more.**_ '

At the sound of that voice, Sunset froze, her eyes widening. She realised how much she had irresponsibly let her rage build up, and what that could potentially have lead to...

"Sunset?" Twilight asked, looking very concerned. "Whats wrong?"

Sunset took a deep breath, backing away from Flash. "Its... its nothing." She looked towards Flash. "Flash, I'm sorry about all that stuff I said. I guess I just felt... concerned for Twilight."

"Sure..." Flash responded, clearly noticing that something had happened with her. "I should probably go... um... perimeters to check and... stuff like that..."

"I think so too." Twilight agreed. "I want to talk with Sunset for a bit."

Flash nodded at her, before kicking himself off the floor, spreading his wings out, and flying away.

Twilight turned back to face Sunset, the look of concern still in her eyes. "Sunset... what was that?"

"I told you, its nothing."

"Don't try this on me. I saw you suddenly get angry with Flash, and then you just looked...scared."

Sunset looked at Twilight, and the look on her face. It was a face she couldn't lie to.

And more importantly, it was a face she could trust.

"Can we talk somewhere else?" She asked. "Like... your room or something?"

Twilight nodded. "My room is just fine."

She walked down the hallway, Sunset following behind her. There wasn't anything to talk about, so there was no speaking. Just the sound of their hoofsteps echoing down the hallway. They passed a guard on the way, who gave them a salute like the one in the library. Sunset was starting to understand how they made Twilight feel uncomfortable.

After they entered the throne room, they went up a set of stairs that lead to another hallway. It was a short walk down the hallway before Twilight opened up one of the doorways, letting Sunset in before she closed the door behind them.

There was no source of light in the room besides the curtainless window letting the evening sunlight in, which worked perfectly fine. Aside from the bed, which certainly looked very royal, the room didn't look very different from the guest bedroom that Sunset had stayed in.

"So..." Said Twilight. "Now that we're alone...what's going on?"

Sunset sighed. There was no way should could back out of it now, but it didn't mean that she had to like it.

"I've been having nightmares..." Sunset said quietly.

"What kind of nightmares?" Twilight asked, her voice sounding very compassionate.

"I find myself in this... red corridor. In front and behind me I see nothing but darkness, and I keep thinking that I can't go back, so I start walking ahead. As I do, I keep hearing these...voices. Saying things from my past. And at the end..."

She stopped for a moment, the memories of the dreams feeling hard to bring up.

"And...what?" Twilight responded.

"Its different each time... but it always ends with... myself. The form I took when I put the crown on..."

"That sounds horrible." Twilight uttered.

"That's not the important part. Yes, that sounds like it was just my own insecurity and fear of my past taking form in my mind. And in a way... I guess it is. But its more than that. I started hearing... a voice. Her voice. In the real world."

Twilight's eyes shot wide open. "How?"

"I talked to Discord about it. He said that when I took demon form, the element of magic fused with a part of my soul. When you and the others reverted me back to normal, that part of me stayed."

It looked like Twilight was trying to look calm, but she was clearly disturbed from hearing this.

"He said that... its mostly inactive. Its only when I start to feel negative emotions that it starts to emerge. And when it does... not only can I hear her, but... she rides those emotions. She overcharges them to the point where I'm getting infuriated over basically nothing."

"So how do we stop it?" Twilight asked, continuing to sound upset.

"I already asked Discord. Like I said, its a part of my soul. A part of me. Getting rid of should be impossible. And if it can somehow be done, it would likely lobotomise me if it didn't kill me."

"But..."

"Its not as bad as it sounds. It just... talks to me really. Just overblows my emotions. There's not much bad stuff that can come from that, right?"

"Sunset, we both know what you were like as a demon. We can't have that come back in any way or form."

"I already told you, we can't risk trying to get rid of it. There's nothing we can do."

For what felt like a while, Twilight just stared at Sunset, seemingly trying to figure out something to say or do, but nothing came to mind.

Suddenly she rushed towards Sunset, wrapping her hooves around her in an intense hug. Still hugging her, she pressed her lips against Sunset's in a quick, yet passionate kiss. She quickly kissed her twice more before resting her head on Sunset's shoulder.

"Sunset, I'm... I'm so sorry..." She said in a voice that sounded on the verge of tears.

"Don't be." Sunset insisted. "Right now I'm just happy that you're okay. I still can't believe that you could have died in the Griffon Kingdom."

Twilight parted herself from the hug, a sad look on her face. "Right... the Griffon Kingdom..."

"What was it like?" Sunset asked, sensing something wrong.

"It was..." Twilight said quietly, her breathing getting louder. "It was just... just horrible. Everywhere I looked I was seeing... suffering. Citizens being arrested, adults and children alike living on the streets, Griffons that... just weren't moving..."

Tears were now running down her face.

"And..." She sobbed. "I think about how they may still be going through Tartarus right now, and yet I... I have everything I could have ever wanted or needed. And then I think about the fact that it all could have been stopped earlier... if I had just been there..."

Whatever she was going to say next, she didn't get to. She didn't need to. Sunset raised her hoof, stroking Twilight's cheek, which was wet with tears.

"Don't tell yourself that any of it is your fault. You didn't know that the portal would close behind you. You didn't know that you'd be gone for a week. You didn't know what was happening in the Griffon Kingdom. There's no reason to be blaming yourself for any of this."

Sunset and Twilight stared at each other, the latter's eyes red from crying.

"That doesn't change the fact that its still happening."

Her horn glowing aqua, Sunset magically brushed stray strands of Twilight's hair out of her face. "Well you can't help anyone if you're busy being so sad over it."

Twilight's reaction lasted as long as it should have. For a moment , they just stared at each other, Sunset trying to comfort Twilight with a smile. Eventually, Twilight in turn smiled, before leaning forward and giving Sunset another quick kiss. This one was less passionate than the previous ones, but there was something... more heartfelt about it.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"Thats what girlfriends do." Sunset whispered back. "We support each other."

"Come on." Said Twilight, rubbing the water out of her eyes. "Its getting late. We should go get some dinner."

"I think you're right."

Twilight headed out the door, Sunset following behind her. As Sunset left the room, closing the door behind her, a thought formed in her head.

A thought that had been growing in her mind as Twilight was explaining what had been going on in the Griffon Kingdom.

If she hadn't gone back to get the crown that fateful day, she and Twilight likely wouldn't have met. If she and Twilight hadn't met, they never would have developed their friendship and eventual relationship. If they had never been friends, Twilight wouldn't have gotten herself stuck in the human world.

She would have been in Equestria as the civil conflict erupted.

' _It's not your fault Twilight. It's mine._ '

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the Woomod and Angius scene. Those were two of my most prominent readers at the time, and I thought I'd pay some homage to them. Probably wasn't the best idea, considering that for every reader that isn't them the scene is probably just confusing and pointless. But hey, live and learn. The book Woomod was reading was also a reference to a story of the same name that was written by an author that was inspired by this story and dedicated it to me. It would be rude not to include the URL:
> 
> https://www.fimfiction.net/story/240159/if-she-were-the-sun-and-her-the-moon
> 
> Another issue looking back on this chapter was that I probably should have just skipped Sunset's explanation of her condition. Doing it in a detailed scene just repeated stuff the readers already know and is fairly rushed on its own anyway. Simply reducing it to just explaining that Sunset had talked to Twilight about it would have been sufficient.
> 
> The scene with Flash is funnier than I remember though.
> 
> As always, please comment and critique so I can improve for future chapters and stories.


	16. Waves Of Relief-Twilight Sparkle

"...finally out of strength and energy, Daring Do collapsed into the warm embrace of Ahuizotl Jr's arms, her passion spent. As his tail hand gently stroked her mane, her eyelids fell as she drifted off to peaceful sleep."

Once Fracture was done, he lifted his gaze towards them, his glowing cyan eyes wide with excitement. "So what do you think?"

Twilight was struggling to find the words. She had encountered fanfiction before, even pretty sensual ones. But none of them were quite... like that.

"Um... it was... certainly detailed..."

"I think I'm gonna be sick..." Sunset groaned.

"It could have been shorter..." Twilight continued.

"On that we can agree on." Sunset responded.

"Hmmm... " Fracture mumbled, his eyes quickly scrolling over the eight pages of intense descriptive love. "Maybe I did overdo it a bit. Eh, the guys at the fan club probably won't mind. You should see how long Bulk Bicep's stories tend to get."

"I really don't think I want to..." Sunset stated, displaying the cutest face of disturbance a pony could muster.

Twilight had certainly found Fracture's story to be... less than pleasing, though thankfully not to the point of feeling any sickness.

"So Fracture, now that we've... participated in your reading, is there any chance you can give us that lens now?" She asked.

"Right." He replied, ducking under the counter. "I have a small box full of these things somewhere here." He continued, a rummaging noise coming from his position.

Twilight looked to her left at Sunset, who was in the process of rubbing her head as her eyes shut tight, like she was trying to telepathically erase her memories of the past few minutes.

"Ah, here it is!"

Twilight looked back at the counter to find Fracture placing a small brown box on the surface, a rattling noise spawning from the impact.

"Pick your size and thickness!" He declared with enthusiasm.

The inside of the box erupted with magenta as dozens of small lenses floated out, a large variety of sizes presented before her. One by one Twilight inspected the individual lenses, finding two bronze framed ones of around five centimetre diameter and two centimetre thickness.

"These ones should do." Twilight stated, levitating all other lenses back in the box.

"Lets see..." Fracture started, picking up a small notebook and flicking through the pages. "Lenses... size... number... that should be about... sixty bits."

It may have been a bit pricey, but there wasn't any other way of getting a good telescope lens in the area, so it had to do. After the payment was handed over, Fracture happily bid them farewell as they left the store.

"Never make me go through that again." Sunset demanded, the door closing behind them.

"Would you have preferred we try to deal with him in his previous mood?" Twilight asked, referring to his green misery state, which he had been going through when they arrived. Something about the Stark family...

"Well it didn't mean we had to go through his erotic fantasies in the form of literature!"

"Have you really never encountered that kind of writing?"

Sunset's lips pursed. "The internet is a strange place my dear. There is many an artwork and a pop-up advert that I wished I never saw. But not once have I ever dared to see what horrors the written world has in store. Except for when I did. Five minutes ago!"

"You look so cute when you're grumpy." Twilight commented, nudging Sunset on the head. "How about we go get some lunch, will that cheer you up?"

Her eyes narrowed in an unamused expression. "I believe I just stated twice that I felt disgusted. Do you want to give me vomit fuel?"

"They have waffles."

Her eyes subsequently un-narrowed, a slight smile appearing. "With whipped cream?"

"And raspberries if they haven't run out yet."

Sunset was now looking considerably happier than she had been a few seconds ago. "Then screw my digestive system, lead the way!"

***

The Ponyville Café was dealing with very few customers besides them, so it wasn't very long before their food arrived.

Sunset was busy digging in to exactly what Twilight had promised her, a pile of waffles topped with whipped cream and raspberries. Unlike Twilight's promise however, there were also some chocolate chips among the cream as well raspberries.

Twilight herself was enjoying very similar food. A pancake as opposed to a waffle, also topped with whipped cream and chocolate chips, but with blueberries rather than raspberries.

" **Hooweba mabe deesh wufoof nids a raith!** " Sunset declared through a muffling mass of pastry, cream, fruit, and chocolate.

Twilight nodded. She usually paid more than was required anyway. Though she wasn't quite focused on the quality of the food at the moment. She was more focused on the food itself...

There was something about the two meals that the two mares had chosen to eat that caught her attention. She noticed how different, yet how similar they were. On one side, both of them had decided to have their food with whipped cream and chocolate chips. But on the other side, she and Sunset had gone for pancakes and waffles respectively, as well as choosing a different type of fruit to go with them.

It reminded her of something she read about the strength of a relationship, how a bond between two people relied on a balance of their differences as well as their similarities. The idea was that they needed to be similar enough to understand and relate to each other, as well as different enough to learn from each other. To complete one another.

She looked at the half eaten pancakes in front of her, then at the remnants of Sunset's waffles. If you were to compare the separate meals to the ones eating them, than the whipped cream present in both of their food could represent their academic side. Their strive for knowledge and ability to pass it on to others. In short, both of them were complete nerds. As for the chocolate chips, they could represent their kindness and compassion. Both of them had been emotionally withdrawn and cold to others, but became better people once they experienced true friendship. Developing friendships, as well as being helpful and forgiving all became a second nature to them.

Then there was the differences in their food, the traits they didn't share. As Twilight had chosen pancakes while Sunset had chosen waffles, Twilight was sweet and eccentric while Sunset was cool and confident. Twilight's lunch was topped with dark and round blueberries as she tended to be unstable and prone to panic. Sunset's lunch was topped with bright and lumpy raspberries as she tended to be regretful and prone to sadness. In the case of how the differences worked for each other, Sunset's confidence was needed to cancel out Twilight's instability, and Twilight's eccentricity was needed to cancel out Sunset's darker moods.

If lunch was anything to go by, things were looking good for them.

"Okay, I changed my mind." Sunset declared as she sighed happily, her plate now holding nothing more than crumbs and flakes of cream. "No amount of disturbing fanfiction can make this stuff unappealing."

"Glad to see that cheered you up." Twilight replied, finishing off her pancakes.

"So whats next?" Asked Sunset.

Twilight had to finish chewing the pancake in her mouth before she could answer. "Back to the castle I guess, since we have the lenses and all. Unless theres anything else you want to do?"

"Not really." Sunset answered. "Going back to the castle sounds just fine."

With going home now secured as the next goal, Twilight finished off the last of her pancakes and called for the waiter. Once the bill was paid, they left the café and headed for the castle.

During the walk back, there was nothing but silence between them. It wasn't too surprising, with the amount of time they spent together there naturally wasn't going to be much to talk about. Sunset wasn't too familiar with Ponyville, but Twilight figured that she could just let her admire it herself.

As for Ponyville itself, it was looking like the usual nice environment that it was. There was that refreshing scent of fresh plants and clean streets in the air, one that gave a hint of the pride and care the ponies took when it came to their town. The state of the houses made them looked as good as if they had been built just last week, and the sound of friendly chatter emitted from the colourful townsfolk. Above the rooftops the sky was filled with little to no clouds, allowing the light of the sun to...

The sun...

At the sight of the symbol of her mentor, Twilight was struck by the memories of everything Luna had told her that day. It was hard to believe that it could have slipped from her memory in the first place.

Sunset was Celestia's daughter, and she had absolutely no idea that she was.

Of all the things she had learned about Celestia in the past few short years from the fact that she banished her own sister to the moon for a thousand years, to her secret visits to an alternate world to be with an alternate Sombra, this was by far among the most shocking. As an ancient being that has weilded divine power to rule Equestria for thousands of years, something as simple as family seemed like something that Celestia simply didn't involve herself in. And the fact that this daughter of hers was the mare she had spent the last few months knowing and the last few days loving was probably what was most shocking about it.

After knowing and learning from Celestia for so long, Twilight knew that the decisions that Celestia made had to be for what she thought was a good reason. Especially since she knew what kind of person Sunset once was, it wasn't too hard to believe that Celestia would see her as a failure and want to get rid of her.

But still...

"Sunset?"

"Yeah?" Sunset responded, looking back at her as they walked.

"These days..." Twilight struggled to find the words. "How would you say you felt about Celestia?"

It didn't take a scientist to instantly spot the hints of sadness that appeared in Sunset's eyes. "You mean how I feel when I think about her? Its more or less the same as everything from my past really. I regret a lot of things I said to her, and wish I could undo the choices I made back then. Why do you ask?"

"How would you feel... if you got to see her again?"

Sunset seemed to think for a moment before answering. "Honestly, it's not like anythings keeping me from seeing her again. I guess I'm just too scared to confront her after everything that went down back then."

"You make it sound like she'd want to kill you or something."

"Well I don't see why she wouldn't want to, after declaring that I was better than her and trying to conquer Equestria. The least she would probably do is banish me to Tartarus."

"Oh please, she'd never go that far..."

"Hey, I was just kidding... mostly. I mean she banished her own sister to the moon for a thousand years for trying to conquer Equestria. I tried to more or less do the same thing and I'm not even her family."

' _If only you knew..._ ' Twilight thought.

If only she knew indeed. But as much as Twilight wanted to tell Sunset the truth herself, she had recently come to the conclusion that this was a family matter and was going to be sorted out by family. No matter how long it took.

"So you think its best if you don't see Celestia again?" Twilight asked.

"I'm not saying that." Sunset insisted. "Honestly, Celestia was something like a mother to me..."

'You don't say.'

"I still regret the fact that we last saw each other on the terms that we did. I want to fix the broken relationship that we had, but I just don't think I'm ready yet. I doubt she is either."

Taking a closer look at Sunset, Twilight could see that she was clearly pained by the situation she had created between her and Celestia.

"Don't worry." Said Twilight. "I'm sure it'll all work out in the end."

"Thanks." Sunset replied with a smile. "I hope so."

With that sorted out, Twilight looked ahead to unexpectedly find the castle just ahead of them. They had walked a surprisingly long distance during that one conversation.

Once they had reached the top of the stairs, Twilight intended on opening the doors herself. But before she could do so, they started glowing orange before opening themselves. Upon entering the castle, she found a unicorn guard saluting her, his horn glowing the same colour.

"Um... thank you?" She said to him. Even after the week of living with these guards and the years she lived in Canterlot a while back, it was a difficult process getting used to it.

The two mares walked ahead into the throne room to find a group of about five guards huddled in a circle. Standing out among them was Flash's golden armour. He caught sight of Twilight and Sunset as they approached, and when the guards parted, Twilight saw that he was holding what looked like a letter.

"Whats new?" Twilight asked.

Flash's face displayed a smirk. That wasn't unusual for him, but this one seemed happier than most.

"You might want to read this." He stated.

Wrapping it in her magic, Twilight levitated the letter into reading distance. She felt Sunset lean against her, trying to take a look as well. And even from the first word, she recognised the handwriting of Celestia.

Dear Twilight Sparkle, and the Guards in her service.

I have recently been informed by messengers from the Griffon Kingdom that the civil conflict in their territory is coming to an end. It was recently discovered that the insurgents who attacked you were under the command of the Griffon Princess Geráki. Upon further investigation it was also revealed that she had also been responsible for the destruction of any documents stating which Princess had been born first, as well as the deaths of most of those present during the birth. It is also suspected that she may have poisoned her father, but that is still being looked into. It appears that she has been plotting to take the Griffon throne for quite some time, an act that has earned her life imprisonment. Her sister, Princess Grípi, is to be crowned Queen within a week. With the conflict over, it is hoped that the kingdom will return to its regular state in a few months. Princess Grípī thanks you for everything you have done, and I thank you for the service you have provided for Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom.

Yours sincerely.

Princess Celestia.

Even after she finished reading, Twilight continued to stare at the paper in her magical grasp, processing everything she had just read.

It was over.

There was no reason to worry about the Griffon Kingdom anymore.

' _But isn't there?_ ' She asked herself in her mind. ' _Things aren't just going to return to normal overnight. After everything that I saw in the Griffon Kingdom, there will be people that won't trust others, especially the royal family. There will still be fighting. There will still be suffering._ '

There will still be dying.

"Are you okay Twilight?" She heard Sunset ask from behind her.

"I'm fine." Twilight replied, looking up at Flash. "Thank you for informing me of this."

"Hey, I'm not the one that should be thanked here." Flash insisted. "You're the one that should be thanked. For visiting the Griffon Kingdom. And having to confront two raging monarchs. And almost being assassinated. I should probably shut up now."

"Please do." Sunset mumbled.

Flash took notice of the insult and smiled at Sunset. "What, you don't like the sound of my voice?"

"Drop the charming musician tone and I may find it the slightest bit more bearable." Sunset replied, her eyebrows narrowing in a position that made it hard to tell if she was taking this playfully or seriously.

"Well I'm sorry if Your eggheadedness can't handle this sexy voice of mine."

"You call it sexy, I call it the sound of a dying vulture."

"That certainly gives me a clear impression of your taste in music."

"Can we get back to the part where you were saying that you should shut up now?"

The banter between Sunset and Flash brought a slight smile to Twilight's face. It was nice to be present during something like this to get her mind off the Griffon Kingdom.

She could only hope that her mind stayed off it.

***

It wasn't long after Twilight had received the news from the Celestia that her friends came over to congratulate her and celebrate the occasion. Pinkie had brought over an entire five foot 'End Of A Foreign Civil Conflict' cake, with the usual balloons and confetti cannons accompanying them. They spent the next few hours digging into the cake while talking, which largely consisted of asking Twilight questions regarding how she felt about the incident. Sunset spent her time socialising with the others, trying to continue building up friendships similar to the ones she had with their pony counterparts.

As much as Twilight enjoyed seeing the others celebrate over the end of the conflict, as well as Sunset having a good time with the others, she couldn't enjoy herself as much as everyone else. All she wanted to do was stop thinking about the Griffon Kingdom, and this party was accomplishing that.

Eventually, the time had come for Celestia to lower the sun and Luna to bring out the moon. With Equestria now under the blanket of night, the other five mares saw it as time to go home. Together they all left the castle, wishing Twilight and Sunset a good night.

With them gone, the castle was nothing but silent. The Guards that were normally active during the day, including Flash, had all retired for the night, another group of Guards taking their place.

"So, is there anything else you want to do tonight?" Sunset asked Twilight as they walked back towards the throne room.

Twilight sighed. "I think I'd just like to go to sleep now."

If anything was going to take her mind off everything, it was a good nights sleep.

"Sure, if thats what you want." Sunset agreed.

Following this agreement that it was time for bed, the two mares trotted up the stairway into the upper floor of the castle. They both went to the bathroom, brushing their teeth side by side. Once they were both prepared to sleep, they walked down the hallway to where all the main bedrooms were.

Stopping at the room that Sunset was staying in, Twilight opened the door for her.

"Have a nice night Sunset." She wished her.

"You too." Sunset answered back before kissing Twilight on the cheek.

Sunset entered her room, closing the door behind her and leaving Twilight alone the hallway.

Twilight stood quietly by the door for a moment, possibly out of sadness, loneliness or just tiredness. When that moment passed, she let out a deep breath and headed further down the hallway to her own bedroom.

On the way, she spotted a door that was left wide open. Recognising it as Spike's door, she took a look inside. It looked as it normally did, all of Spike's stuff kept in a clean and orderly state. Unlike the general impression most people had of children, Spike always kept his room nice and tidy. It probably came from the lifetime he spent organising things for Twilight.

In his bed slept the dragon himself, snoring quietly. He always looked so cute when he was asleep. He just seemed so sweet and innocent. At the end of of his bed the frame rose into a blue crystal tree design, and on top of that slept Owlowiscious. Owlowiscious had several places to sleep in the castle, but he tended to sleep in either Twilight or Spike's rooms most nights.

Twilight slowly closed the door so that they wouldn't be disturbed, and walked a few steps further down the hallway, finally reaching her room.

Entering the bedroom, Twilight slowly walked towards her bed. But instead of tucking herself under the sheets and going to sleep, she turned to face the large window, moved closer to it and sat down on the floor before it.

She gazed through the open curtains and out the pane of glass to the night sky before her. There wasn't anything special about this sky compared to all the other night skies that came before it, but for some reason she just wanted to stare at it. That plain space, a dark purple colour that turned pitch black the higher it went, with glowing white spots scattered across it. It was looking clearer to Twilight of why pony's neglect of the beautiful night would drive Luna to do what she did a thousand years ago. At that moment, Twilight wanted to just stare at the night sky for the rest of her life, and forget about everything that was going on beyond Equestria.

"Are you okay?"

Twilight turned around to see Sunset standing at the doorway. She realised that she had somehow forgotten to close the door before she entered the room earlier.

"I'm fine." Twilight answered, getting up from the floor. "I just thought I'd take a look at the sky for a bit before going to sleep."

"I don't think so Twilight." Said Sunset, closing the door before walking towards her. "I came here because I realised that you had this look on you earlier. Like something was upsetting you. I wasn't so sure of it before, but looking at you now, there is definitely something wrong."

Twilight looked at the floor sadly. She felt like she wanted to tell Sunset, but the words just couldn't come out.

"Its the Griffon Kingdom isn't it?" Sunset inferred.

Still unable to get the words out, she could only nod.

Sunset walked herself in front of Twilight and placed her hoof on the princess's shoulder. "Twilight, the matters in the Griffon Kingdom are done. Its over."

"Is it?" Twilight asked, lifting her head to face Sunset as her strength returned to her.

Sunset looked at her for a second. "You think that theres still going to be fighting?"

"Why wouldn't there be? Just because the new monarch has been chosen, it doesn't mean that everyone's suddenly going to forget the past two weeks. You think the Griffon people are going to get along after they were more or less trying to kill each other just a few days ago?"

Sunset's eyes drifted away from Twilight. "I don't how to answer that."

"I think you do know, Sunset. You just don't want to." Twilight went back to looking at the ground again. "And neither do I. All I can really do is think about it... and regret..."

Twilight suddenly felt the feeling of Sunset's hoof under her chin, before her head was lifted to look at her in the eye.

"You need to stop blaming yourself for this." Sunset pleaded.

"Well who else am I supposed to blame?"

"Blame me..."

This phrase stunned Twilight for a few seconds.

"What do you mean? This has nothing to do with you." Twilight pointed out.

"If it wasn't for our friendship at the time, you wouldn't have been in the human world when this all started." Sunset stated, her voice starting to crack. "You could have been to there to stop it before things got serious. If anyone is to blame here, its me."

Looking closer at Sunset's face, Twilight spotted the tears that had started to run down her cheeks.

That was when it hit her. She thought about the fact that Sunset had never been to the Griffon Kingdom, never seen anything that had happened there. Yet here she was, claiming all the blame for herself. Regardless of who was to blame or not, feeling guilt for something was purely psychological. Having never seen the state of the Griffon Kingdom herself, there was no motivation Sunset could have had to feel guilty about all of it.

Except for her.

The state that Twilight had sent herself into. The guilt. The sadness. The tears. It was what had hurt Sunset. It was what had caused her to feel guilty about everything. And by openly telling Twilight that it was her fault, she was trying to take all the guilt off her. Trying to carry it for her.

At that moment, whatever Twilight had been feeling for Sunset before was paling in comparison to what she was feeling for her now.

"I love you." Twilight whispered.

Sunset's eyes widened, her face displaying complete surprise, possibly from the suddenness of this comment, or the fact that she was finally hearing these words from Twilight.

"I... love you too." Sunset said back to her.

A surging feeling appeared in Twilight's stomach and went up her body, charging her with this alien feeling that made her heartbeat go faster and her breaths go deeper.

And all of a sudden it exploded inside her as she lunged forward, fusing her lips with Sunset's. The amber mare was initially taken aback by this, but quickly eased up and pushed her mouth back against Twilight's. They had kissed a few times before, but this one was... different.

Sunset began to push harder against Twilight, forcing her to start moving backwards as they continued kissing. All the while the feeling inside Twilight expanded through her entire body. It was like her heart was releasing an electrically charged gas that was coursing through her blood stream. She felt that she needed... more of Sunset.

Sunset continued pushing against Twilight, until the alicorn felt her backside collide softly with the end of the bed. She leaned back against it, allowing Sunset to start climbing on top of her, continuing to assault her with passion.

And that was when Twilight realised what was happening.

"Stop..." She panted, releasing her mouth from its lock with Sunset's.

Sunset gave her a confused look, before she seemed to realise what she had been doing.

"I'm sorry!" She apologised. "I... I didn't mean to suddenly get so... I wasn't trying to..."

"No, its fine." Twilight insisted. "I'm just... not sure if I'm ready for this kind of thing. I mean... I'm not very experienced. There aren't any books on this subject that I've read."

Sunset looked at Twilight with a very indecisive look, before she broke into a small hint of a smile. "Do you want to?"

Twilight thought for a second, before giving her the honest answer. "Yes."

Sunset nodded, and Twilight suddenly felt her whole body vibrate as her vision went opal. She felt herself levitate through the air before landing softly on the bed. Looking forward, she saw Sunset step on to the mattress and start crawling towards her. She stayed flat on her back as Sunset positioned herself on top of her, her horn glowing brightly.

"Then we can learn together, okay?" Sunset whispered, her eyes looking at Twilight lovingly as she smiled.

"Okay..." Twilight replied, smiling back.

And while no one knew what happened in that room, those who may have been in the area that the window overlooked would have witnessed flashes of stunning opal light, dazzling magenta light, and even once, a beautiful turquoise light as the two colours fused into one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> That's pretty much the only thing I can say about this chapter.
> 
> Since some of you have been asking me to hurry up with getting chapters posted, I should probably point out that the story was finished over a year ago on Fimfiction.net. I'll just put the link below:
> 
> https://www.fimfiction.net/story/232289/a-sparkling-sunset
> 
> I've been posting the story here just to give my AO3 account more content/variety and hopefully get people to read my other stuff. Because of that I'm not really in any rush to get the whole thing posted on here. I do intend to get it done eventually for the convenience of future readers, but until then you can always just read the Fimfiction version. AT least that one comes with colours, since I have no idea how to change text colour here, if that can be done at all.

**Author's Note:**

> I figured I'd transfer my most successful Fimfiction story to this site for the sake of branching out, as well as kickstarting my account with a pre-existing story. Hope that turns out well.
> 
> Also as said in the description, this was first written before season 5, so prepare for some show contradictions.


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